Early history in Central America

The climate of tropical rain forests combines great quantities of rainfall with high year-round temperatures and humidity. This results in the perfect conditions for the cultivation of the cacao tree plant from whose bean chocolate is derived. This tree has grown in the wild in Central America for about 10,000 years. The Olmec Indians, whose civilisation flourished in what is now southern Mexico from 1500 to 300 BC, are believed to have been the first to grow cocoa beans as a domestic crop.

The cacao tree was worshipped from about 600 AD by the Mayan people of Central America and southern Mexico, who believed it to be of divine origin. Cacao, which the early explorers referred to as cocoa, is actually a Mayan word meaning ‘god food’. The Mayans brewed a spicy, bittersweet drink by pounding the cocoa beans with maize and chilli peppers and letting the mixture ferment. This drink was reserved for use in traditional ceremonies as well as for drinking by the wealthy and by priests, who also ate a porridge made from the beans.

In about 1200 AD the Aztecs of central Mexico were introduced to cocoa beans and came to highly prize them, but because they lived further north at more arid, higher altitudes not suitable for the cultivation of the cacao tree, they had to acquire the beans through trade or by force. The Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency and taxes were paid in the beans to their rulers. In fact, the Aztec royal treasury consisted not of precious metals but of cocoa beans. The Aztecs also enjoyed a beverage made from the beans, and this again featured prominently in rituals and as a luxury available only to the very wealthy. The Aztecs called this drink ‘xocolati’. The Spanish explorers found this word almost impossible to pronounce and so corrupted it to ‘chocolat’, which the English subsequently changed to chocolate.

Introduction to Europe and North America

Chocolate was brought back to Spain in the early 16th century by Spanish explorers, who at first found the Aztec drink distasteful because of its bitterness. However, they learned to improve its taste by mixing the ground roasted beans with sugar and vanilla. Chocolate factories were established in Spain and by the early 17th century, chocolate powder was being exported to other parts of Europe. The Spanish kept the source of the drink – the beans – a secret for many years, so successfully, in fact, that when English pirates boarded a Spanish ship they thought carried great treasure and only found a load of cocoa beans, they burned the ship in frustration. If only they had known that chocolate at that time was extremely valuable.

Within a few years, the cocoa beverage produced in Spain was sought after throughout Europe. The first chocolate house in England opened in 1657, followed rapidly by many others. These establishments were used as clubs where wealthy people could meet to talk to their friends and to discuss business over a cup of chocolate. The first recorded instance of chocolate being eaten in solid form occurred when a baker in England began adding cocoa powder to cakes in the mid-1600s. Then in 1828, a Dutch chemist, Johannes Van Houten, invented a method of extracting the bitter-tasting cocoa butter from the roasted beans. His aim was to make the cocoa drink smoother and more palatable; however, unknowingly he paved the way for the chocolate bar that we consume today.

In the early 18th century, certain companies owned by prominent English families including the Frys, Rowntrees and Cadburys began making chocolate. Many of these chocolate factory owners were noted for their enlightened treatment of employees, providing not just jobs but facilities such as housing and schools. In fact, the Cadbury company constructed a large purpose-built town near Birmingham. And interestingly, Milton Hershey, founder of perhaps the most famous US chocolate-making company of its day, also established a town in Pennsylvania in 1900.

The production of chocolate

Producing chocolate is a time-consuming and complicated process. After being harvested and separated from the pods which contain them, the beans are allowed to ferment and then dried either in the sun (which produces the best chocolate) or artificially, using specially designed machines (which creates an inferior chocolate). After that the beans are roasted according to various formulas which affect the flavour of the final product.

The beans are then lightly crushed, the outer layer of shell discarded, and the internal kernels or ‘nibs’ retained. At this point, the nibs, which contain high quantities of a fat known as cocoa butter, may be treated to develop their flavour and colour. The nibs are finely ground, and in the grinding process heat is produced which liquefies the product into a substance called the ‘liquor’. This is cooled and allowed to solidify. After this stage, the chocolate is made into any of a multitude of solid forms or is ground into cocoa powder, depending on the ultimate intended use.