The Long and Varied History of Chocolate

Chocolate, one of the most beloved foods around the world, has enjoyed a long and varied history. Hernando Cortez was the first explorer to the New World to realize that cocoa beans served a type of food for the natives. Columbus had noted during his earlier expeditions that the beans were used as a type of currency; however, it was not until later that note was made of the fact that the beans were crushed by natives and mixed with cold water to form a type of beverage. The unsweetened chocolate drink was known as xocalatl and was so popular it was drunk several times per day. Chili powder, honey and vanilla were often added by the wealthy to provide a distraction from the bitter taste. When the Spanish began to arrive and partake of the drink they began adding cinnamon, almonds and hazelnuts to the mixture.

The drink quickly grew in popularity among the Spanish and became a standard breakfast drink long before coffee was conceived of as the standard. Over time, changes were made in the technique used to produce the beverage, including boiling the water instead of using gold water. For more than a century the drink was enjoyed by the Spanish only; it was not only the 17th century that Italians who traveled to the West Indies encountered the cocoa bean, brought it back to Italy and then began to export it around the world. By 1655, England was importing cocoa directly from Jamaica. Two years later chocolate houses were all the rage in London as well as Vienna.

Within 50 years chocolate had begun to be mixed with hot milk as well as sugar to create a beverage that was more similar to the modern form we know and enjoy today. During this time chocolate was still considered for the most part to be a spice, similar in nature to chili powder or even vanilla. It was not until the early 18th century that chocolate became known as a confection.

The first chocolate factory opened in 1728 in London for the purpose of producing chocolate candy. Within just a few years industrialized methods made it possible for candy to be produced en masse in countries around the world. This allowed even lower income families to purchase and enjoy chocolate, once reserved for only the wealthy.
Some of the earliest names that popped up in chocolate production are the same names we know so well today, including Nestle and Cadbury. The Hershey factory opened in Pennsylvania in 1903 after Milton Hershey initially failed with a candy store in Philadelphia and a factory in New York.

 
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