The history of chocolate.

The history of chocolate can't get any easier. Having broken the history down into parts, you can skip those that don't interest you and read those that you want to learn more about!

The history of chocolate: The cacao tree.

The Mayan and their role in the history of chocolate.

It was because of the Mayan that chocolate earned its name. It is said that the word chocolate is derived from the Mayan xocolatl, which means bitter water. The word cocoa came from the Aztec word cacahualt. The Mexican Indian word chocolate comes from the combination of the term choco (which means foam) and atl (which means water). This is because for a long, long, long time, chocolate was only consumed as a drink. Chocolate tablets were a European invention!

The Mayan worshiped the cocoa bean and used it as currency. Explorers quickly found out that 4 cocoa beans could get them a pumpkin, ten cocoa beans would get them a rabbit, and 100 cocoa beans would buy them a slave.


The cocoa beans were also used to make the drink, xocolatl, which was bitter. It was made from roasted cocoa beans, water, and spices. The cocoa's soothing qualities were quickly found out and were used to treat coughs, fever, and even discomfort during pregnancy.

A quick clarification between cacao and cocoa: Cacao is the source of cocoa and chocolate. Cocoa is the fruit or seeds of the cacao tree.

The Aztecs and their role in the history of chocolate.

Much like the Mayans, the Aztecs also thought a lot of the cocoa bean. The Aztecs also consumed large quantities of xocolatl, known to the Aztecs as cacahualt, as a luxury drink. But the description of their drink was as follows: soft, reddish, foamy, finely ground, bitter with chilled water, vanilla and wild honey.

But, because of the dry climate of the region in which the Aztecs resided in, they could not grow cacao trees and had to obtain supplied of cocoa beans through trade or tribute. Cocoa beans were a form of taxation that was paid by the tribes that the Aztecs conquered. Just like the Mayans, the Aztecs used the cocoa bean for currency.

Spain and its role in the history of chocolate.

When Cortes invaded Mexico in 1523, the Aztecs offered him cocoa beans. (Can you imagine his surprise?) Cortes took the opportunity to taste this cacahualt that was prepared by the Aztecs and figured out how to change this bitter drink into a wonderful drink. Taking this secret back to Spain, its preparation method stayed secret for almost 100 years.

Note: It is said that Christopher Columbus was the first European to stumble upon these cocoa beans on his fourth voyage to America in 1502, however, Columbus dismissed this finding. Leaving Cortes to bring the cocoa beans back to Europe.

When Cortes came back to Spain in 1528 with his ships loaded with cocoa beans, they were hidden away in Spanish monasteries where they were turned into the chocolate drink. This became a very fashionable drink which was only available to the wealthy and Spanish nobility, as they could afford it.

Note on the history of chocolate: The secret of the chocolate drink stayed secret for nearly a 100 years before the secret was leaked out. As soon as the secret leaked out, it spread through France, Britain, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. A few of these nations established their own cocoa plantations which resulted in the end of Spain's monopoly on the chocolate trade.

How Europe affected the history of chocolate:

As the chocolate drink spread throughout Europe, it was met with much skepticism at first. After the European got over their skepticism about chocolate, they became more open to consuming it. But, it was expensive at that time, hence, only those who could afford it, usually the richer class, enjoyed the chocolate drink.

In 1824, a young Quaker by the name of John Cadbury opened a one man business on Bull Street Birmingham, which would later become one of the world's largest producers of chocolate.

In 1828, Coenraad Johannes Van Houten, a Dutch chemist and chocolate manufacture, invented a hydraulic press which extracted cocoa oil. The dry residues that were left from this process just needed to be crushed in order to produce a fine cocoa powder. Due to this, the price of chocolate was lowered and more people could enjoy chocolate.

In 1866, Cadbury Company introduced a process for pressing the cocoa butter from the cocoa beans. Not only did this result in the production of pure cocoa essence, but also in a large supply of cocoa butter which then enabled the Cadbury brothers to make new kinds of eating chocolates.

The history of chocolate is mighty interesting... bet it made you hungry for some chocolate, right?

How America affected the history of chocolate:

In 1851, Domenico Ghirardelli formed a partnership with a man named Girard and they opened a confectionery store in San Francisco. Shortly after this confectionery store was opened, Domenico sent for his wife. After she arrived, Domenico bought out his partner and renamed the store, Mrs. Ghirardelli & Company.

In 1865, Ghirardelli made use of the presses which were invented by an Amsterdam chocolatier, Conrad Can Houten. These presses were and are used to extracted the cocoa butter from the bean and left an almost fat free cocoa powder.

In 1876, Mr. Daniel Peter tried to add milk to chocolate to create a smoother chocolate. Because milk contained water, the chocolate shrunk, separated and usually disintegrated. After 8 years of experimenting with adding milk to chocolate, Mr. Daniel Peter took his product to Henry Nestle, a maker of evaporated milk. Together, they worked on mixing sweetened condensed milk with chocolate.

In 1879, it was Rodolphe Lindt who thought up the idea of adding cocoa butter into the chocolate.

In 1894, the Hershey Chocolate Company was born. In 1905, Mr. Hershey opened a chocolate manufacturing plant which is now the largest in the world. Thank to him, the mass production of milk chocolate has been made possible.

The history of chocolate and the 1900s.

During the Second World War, the U.S. Government commissioned Milton Hershey to create a candy bar to be included in soldier’s rations. The candy bar chosen was the famous Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar.
This was such a successful collaboration, Hershey Chocolate was called upon during the Persian Gulf War to create a chocolate bar that could withstand high temperatures.
The “Desert Bars” were included in the soldier’s daily rations and were also sold to consumers for use in survival kits.

During this time, Brazil and the Ivory Coast are the leaders in the cocoa bean belt, and are accounting for almost half of the world's cocoa production.

The United States leads the world in cocoa bean importation and chocolate production. But Switzerland continues to be the leader in it's chocolate consumption per person.

In 1980, a story of chocolate espionage hits the world press when an apprentice of the Swiss company of Suchard-Tobler unsuccessfully attempted to sell secret chocolate recipes to Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and other countries.

The history of chocolate, the late 1900s, and the new millenium.

By the 1990s, chocolate had proven its popularity as a product, and its success as a big business. Annual world consumption of cocoa beans averages approximately 600,000 tons. Chocolate manufacturing in the United States is a multibillion-dollar industry. According to Norman Kolpas (1978, p. 106)

That's all for the history of chocolate as of now. With men like Cadbury, Nestle, Lindt, Hershey, and Ghiradelly, the chocolate industry continued to prosper. Without them, the history of chocolate would be most likely be told differently.

The above companies are amongst the largest chocolate producers today.

As time goes on, there will be more landmarks in the history of chocolate.

Meanwhile, eat and enjoy good quality chocolate!

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