History of Chocolate

The word ‘chocolate’ comes from the Nahuatl language of Central Mexico. The word might have been derived from the word ‘xocolli’ meaning bitter and ‘atl’ meaning water. According to a theory by the Mexican philologist, Ignacio Davila Garibi, Spaniards coined the word chocolate as the combination of the Mayan word ‘chocol’ suffixed with the word ‘atl’. The Mexicans believe that the word ‘chicolear’, means ‘to beat, stir’. In ancient times, chocolate was served with beater sticks, thus revealing the association between ‘beating’ and ‘chocolate’. Whatever the studies may show, what most of us are interested in, is eating chocolates! It’s ultimately that ‘chocolaty’ taste and feel which tempts one and all. I have never found a chocolate that I did not like! Have you?

We all know that the basic ingredient of chocolates is cacao. But where does cacao come from? Cacao beans are the product of cacao trees. Some think that the cacao tree originated in the Amazon while others debate that it is originally either from Orinoco Valley of Venezuela or from Central America. A mature cacao tree is 15-25 feet tall. It bears fruit having green or maroon colored pods. Rich brown colored cacao beans are removed from the pods.

It has been found that the earliest use of cacao dates back to 1100 B.C. The people of Puerto Escondido in Honduras might have used it as an alcoholic beverage. The Aztecs linked chocolate to the Goddess of fertility. Locals consumed chocolate in a drink known as xocoatl. Vanilla, chili pepper, and annatto were often added to the drink. Some of the other chocolate drinks of the olden times contained maize gruel and honey.

Christopher Columbus brought cacao beans to Spain and the Spanish introduced cacao to the Europeans. By 1585, cacao beans had come to Europe. The Europeans added milk and sugar to cacao and seasoned it with vanilla. This brought a dramatic positive change to the taste of a chocolate, making it one of the luxury items among the Europeans.

Towards the culmination of the 18th century, Doret invented a solid chocolate in Turin. Pierre Paul Caffarel sold this form of chocolate. In 1819, the first Swiss chocolate factory was established. Dutchman Coenraad Johannes van Houten devised a method for extracting the fat from cocoa beans and making cocoa butter and powdered cocoa. He designed a method to treat chocolate with alkali to get rid of its bitter taste. Joseph Fry made the first edible chocolate in 1847. Two years later, that is in 1849, Cadbury Brothers followed. Till date, this company continues to rule the chocolate industry. Daniel Peter, in 1875, assisted by Henri Nestle, came up with a milk chocolate. Rodelphe Lindt introduced the process of conching, the technique of heating and grinding chocolate solids for obtaining an evenly blended liquid.

Since ancient times, xocoatl was believed to relieve a person from fatigue, owing to its theobromine content. The South American people and the Europeans used cacao to treat diarrhea for centuries. In the pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, cacao beans were used as a currency. This was the value that chocolate had attained, in common man’s life.

During the second half of the Seventeenth century, people of England were fortunate to greet chocolate to their country. In 1657, a chocolate house opened in London, for the first time ever. In the 1700s, mechanical mills began to be used for squeezing out cacao butter. This helped in the making of hard chocolate that was durable. Industrial revolution boosted the popularity of chocolate, taking it all over the world in no time.

"Do you like chocolates?" is not a question to be asked. Moreover, after having read all about the history of chocolate, I am sure you want to get a chocolate for yourself. Go get one and come back to revise the chocolate history!