Fifty-Five Facts on Chocolate

Chocolate is certainly the most popular confectionery on the planet. We consume it with a passion, in extraordinary amounts, but just how much do we know about chocolate?

Here are some interesting chocolate facts:

1. Research suggests that chocolate was originally used more than 2,500 years ago, beginning in Central America. The Mayan civilization considered cacao to be a divine gift and so, it was held in high regard. It was used ceremoniously and sometimes as a form of currency. The name 'cacao' is a Mayan word meaning 'god food' which after being introduced to Europe in the 16th century, formed the basis of the Latin name for the cacao tree 'Theobrama Cacao' meaning 'food for the gods'. It is thought that the word 'cocoa' has come about through a miss-spelling of 'cacao.'

2. The name chocolate comes from the Aztec word xocalati meaning bitter water. Not surprising, considering they made a drink, by mixing cacao beans with chillies, achiote, cornmeal, and some reports suggest the inclusion hallucinogenic mushrooms (probably helped to get over the taste).

3. More than 66 percent of the worlds cacao is produced in Africa and 98 percent of the worlds cocoa is produced by just 15 countries.

4. More than twice as many women than men eat and crave chocolate.

5. It is observed that chocolate cravings cannot be satisfied by any sweet/candy other than chocolate itself.

6. Chocolate produces the effects of a mild anti-depressant by increasing serotonin and endorphin levels in the brain.

7. Chocolate contains a small quantity of caffeine that emulates a mild amphetamine.

8. Although not scientifically proven, chocolate is believed by many, to be an aphrodisiac. The theory is supported by the fact that chocolate does contain among many chemicals the stimulants: caffeine, theobromine, and phenyethylamine.

9. Cocoa butter is a by-product produced from the crushing of roasted cacao beans, and although used in the chocolate making process, it is also used in a number of cosmetic products including massage oils and skin cosmetics. It is one of the most stable, highly concentrated natural fats known. It melts at just below average body temperature and therefore it is easily dissolved into the skin, making it the ideal foundation in moisturizing creams and other such products.

10. On the fourth visit of Christopher Columbus to the Americas, he presented cocoa beans to the Spanish Court. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle were not impressed and dismissed the chocolate as bizarre tribal concoctions.

11. The biggest chocolate structure ever made was a 4,484lb, 10 foot tall, Easter egg, made in Melbourne Australia.

12. 17,000 people in Belgium work in the chocolate industry

13. Despite being high in fat content, chocolate doesn't appear to raise blood cholesterol levels.

14. Allergies to chocolate are uncommon.

15. Almost half the world's chocolate is consumed in America.

16. Napoleon always carried chocolate with him, which he ate as a pick-me-up whenever he needed an energy boost.

17. A cocoa pod contains an average of about 42 beans. It takes up to 270 cocoa beans to make a pound of chocolate.

18. More than 7 billion chocolate chips are eaten annually.

19. Ninety percent of the world’s cacao is grown on small family run farms, no larger than 12 acres.

20. In 2006, more than 6.5 million tons of chocolate was traded worldwide, and consumers spent more than $7,000,000 a year on chocolate related products.

21. The first recorded “Death by Chocolate” case occurred in the 17th Century in Chiapas, Mexico. Upper class Spaniards were so addicted to chocolate that they refused to adhere to a church dictated chocolate ban that forbade them from eating or drinking any food during the church services. As a result, the people of the town refused not only listen to the ban but chose to attend worship services in convents instead. The Bishop who passed the law was later found dead due to poison being mixed into his daily cup of chocolate.

22. The biggest bar of chocolate ever made was created in 2000 and weighed 5,000 pounds. Turin is the city in Italy that can be proud of this accomplishment.

23. Americans eat an average of 22 pounds of candy each year, or approximately 2.8 billion pounds annually which is split almost equally between chocolate and candy. Most Europeans consume far less than this.

24. While the US produces the most chocolate and consume the most pounds every year, the Swiss consume the most per capita, followed closely by the English.

25. Besides the obvious cheese and ice cream industries, American chocolate manufacturers use about 1.5 billion pounds of milk and consume approximately 3.5 million pounds of whole milk yearly.

26. Chocolate manufacturers currently use 40% of the world’s almonds and 20% of the world’s peanuts.

27. Chocolate is technically responsible for the microwave. Scientists were experimenting with micro waves in hopes of creating better radar detectors and in the wake of World War II, scientists were testing devices called magnetrons. A scientist named Percy Spencer entered the lab with a chocolate bar in his pocket and realized it quickly began to melt. Spencer then realized that the magnetron could potentially be used to cook food. He successfully tried popping corn and then attempted to cook an egg which cooked so quickly, it blew up in his face.

28. Every Russian and American space voyage has included chocolate bars.

29. Cacao is a tree, native to South America, whose seeds are the source of cocoa and chocolate.

30. Botanists believe that cacao trees grew wild in the Amazon region , however, the use of the cacao tree, for culinary purposes, did not begin until it reached the lush tropical lowlands of southern Mexico over 3000 years ago.

31. The oldest known civilization of the Americas (1500 - 400 B.C.), The Olmecs, were probably the first users of cacao.

32. Though few records survived, recent linguistic findings suggest the word "cacao" is derived from the word Kakawa in Mixe-Zoquean, believed to have been their language.

33. Cacao beans were so valuable in ancient Mexico that the Maya and subsequent Aztec and Toltec civilizations used them as a means of currency to pay for commodities and taxes.

34. Cocoa, a rare and expensive commodity, had been introduced in Central Europe via Spain as early as the 1600’s but it wasn’t until 1765 that the first chocolate factory was established in the United States.

35. In 1765, the company, Walter Baker Chocolate, was founded by Dr. James Baker and his chocolate maker John Hannon, in a converted wooden mill on the banks of the Neponset River in Massachusetts and thus the term “Baking Chocolate” came into being.

36. Chocolate was such as a prestigious luxury that the French Ruler, Louis XIV, also known as the “Sun King”, established a court position entitled Royal Chocolate Maker to the King.

37. In 1828, cocoa in a powdered format became widely available. This allowed chocolate to become mass produced and widely available during Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth (19th) century.

38. In 1849 during the “Gold Rush” of San Francisco, Dominbro Ghirardelli of Italy began making chocolate. His original factory still stands at Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, CA.

39. In 1868, a Parisian named Etienne Guittard arrived in California and started the Guittard Chocolate Company which is still in operation.

40. 1871 was a landmark year for American Chocolate as Milton Hershey, at the age of nineteen (19), founded his company in Pennsylvania.

41. In 1875, Milk Chocolate was introduced. After over eight (8) years of experimentation, Daniel Peter of Switzerland created this concoction. He sold his creation to his neighbor, Henri Nestle, and thus Nestle Chocolate came into being.

42. In 1879, Rodolphe Lindt, the founder of Lindt Chocolates, invented the process of “conching” which is used to refine chocolate thus enhancing it’s quality.

43. In 1896, the recipe for chocolate brownies, an American snack food staple, was introduced in the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

44. In 1907, the iconic Milk Chocolate Hershey's Kisses were introduced. They are one of the most successful chocolates and Hershey produces approximately 20-25 million per day in a variety of flavors.

45. In 1913, a process was invented by a Swiss Confectioner named Jules Sechaud that allowed chocolates to have unique fillings.

46. The original 3 Musketeers Bar of the 1930s had three parts: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. It became all chocolate in the 1940s and the formula remains the same to this day.

47. In 1938, Nestle Crunch was introduced. It was the first chocolate bar to combine milk chocolate and crunchy crisps to create a sensory eating experience that blended taste, texture and sound.

48. In 1939, Nestle introduced Chocolate Chips.

49. 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. So successful was this collaboration, Hershey Chocolate was called upon during the Persian Gulf War to create a chocolate bar that could withstand high temperatures.

50. In 1960, Chocolate syrup was used to simulate blood in the famous shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, “Psycho”. The scene, featuring Janet Leigh, took over seven (7) days to shoot.

51. In the U.S., the Midwest and the Northeast consume more candy per region than the South, Southwest, West or Mid-Atlantic states.

52. Chocolate manufacturers currently use forty (40) % of the world's almonds and twenty (20) % of the world's peanuts.

53. The average commercial dark chocolate contains about 60 percent cacao and has been found to contain 536 milligrams of flavonoids per 1.4-ounce serving. Research has shown that as few as 80 milligrams of flavonoids a day can lower blood pressure, reducing the risk of heart disease.

54. It's a common misconception that chocolate is packed with caffeine. In reality, the amount of caffeine in chocolate is miniscule compared to what's in other daily pick-me-ups. An ounce of dark chocolate contains about 20 milligrams of caffeine, while an ounce of milk chocolate contains about 5 milligrams—the same as an 8-ounce cup of decaf coffee. In comparison, a cup of coffee contains about 100 milligrams and a cup of tea contains about 50 milligrams of caffeine.

55. The world's most popular chocolate brand is Ferrero Rocher, Italian made roasted specialties. The Ferrero Rocher wafer is covered with milk constituents, and encased with caramel toppings and other selectivity.

The top ten chocolate brands include:
1. Ferrero Rocher
2. Lindt & Sprüngli
3. Ghirardelli
4. Guylian
5. Patchi
6. Toblerone
7. Cadbury
8. Galaxy
9. Mars
10. Kit Kat

Chocolate Protects Against Stroke

You know when Swedish scientists do a study, you'd better listen.  They study everything it seems.  And now the latest, joyful news for chocolate lovers:

A small piece of chocolate a day lessens the risk of getting stroke in men with all of 20 percent, according to a study done at the Karolinska Institute. And for the first time, researchers say that it doesn’t have to be dark chocolate, that dark chocolate can be good for us, is known previously. The latest study, which included 37 000 men, shows that light as well as dark chocolate protect men against stroke. The research team asked the men, ages 49-75, to fill in a questionnaire about their food habits, and included were questions regarding how often and how much chocolate they consumed. Ten years later, as the researchers put their answers together with the Socialstyrelsen’s (The National Board of Health and Welfare) patient register, nearly 2000 of the men had suffered a stroke. And it turns out stroke is more common among those who abstained from chocolate. The men who ate the most chocolate, around half a bar of chocolate a week, had the least risk of suffering a stroke. “We have no proof that eating more chocolate than that is good. If you do, you might gain weight, which in turn increases your risk for disease. It makes no difference if you eat a little bit every day or all at once,” says Susanna Larsson, researcher and nutritional epidemiologist at the Karolinska Institute in an article in daily Dagens Nyheter. The scientists can’t yet explain the link between chocolate and the decreased risk of suffering stroke. But the most likely reason they say is that chocolate includes so-called flavonoids, a type of antioxidants that protect the blood vessels. According to Larsson more studies are needed before a daily dose of the delicacy can be recommended. “But it feels good already to be able to refute those who believe that chocolate is unhealthy,” she says.

So, therefore, I will now take a bite of chocolate to continue my campaign (didn't even know I had one until now!) against getting a stroke.  Healthy never tasted so good.  Slurp!

National Chocolate Day

October 28th is recognized as National Chocolate Day. On this day we should honor the efforts of all those who have brought to us the many delectable varities of this savory treat, known by the Mayans, and to many others (including me!), as "The Food of the Gods".

Enjoy some chocolate!

How Chocolate is Made

The First Steps
The main ingredient used to make chocolate is cocoa beans. Cocoa grows in South and Central America, Africa and parts of Asia in warm, wet environments. The beans come from the inside of cocoa pods, the fruit of the cocoa, or cacao, tree. The pods are harvested by hand and the beans are scooped out and left to dry. After drying and fermenting, the beans are bagged and shipped to the factory.

The first step in manufacturing is cleaning. This is done by passing the cocoa beans through a cleaning machine that removes dried cacao pulp, pieces of pod and other extraneous material that had not been removed earlier.

To bring out the characteristic chocolate aroma, the beans are roasted in large rotary cylinders. Depending upon the variety of the beans and the desired end result, the roasting lasts from 30 minutes to two hours at temperatures of 250 degrees Fahrenheit and higher. As the beans turn over and over, their moisture content drops, their color changes to a rich brown, and the characteristic aroma of chocolate becomes evident.

What Follows Roasting
Proper roasting is one of the keys to good flavor, but there are still several more steps to follow. After roasting, the beans are quickly cooled and their thin shells, made brittle by roasting, are removed. In most factories, this is done by a "cracker and fanner," a giant winnowing machine that passes the beans between serrated cones so they are cracked rather than crushed. In the process, a series of mechanical sieves separate the broken pieces into large and small grains while fans blow away the thin, light shell from the meat or "nibs."

The nibs, which contain about 53 percent cocoa butter, are next conveyed to mills, where they are crushed between large grinding stones or heavy steel discs. The process generates enough frictional heat to liquefy the cocoa butter and form what is commercially known as chocolate liquor. The term liquor does not refer to alcohol, it simply means liquid. When the liquid is poured into molds and allowed to solidify, the resulting cakes are unsweetened or bitter chocolate.

Up to this point, the manufacturing of cocoa and chocolate is identical. The process now diverges, but there is an important interconnection to be noted. The by-product of cocoa shortly becomes an essential component of chocolate. That component is the unique vegetable fat, cocoa butter, which forms about 25 percent of the weight of most chocolate bars.

How to Make Cocoa Powder
The chocolate liquor, destined to become a cup of cocoa, is pumped into giant hydraulic presses weighing up to 25 tons, where pressure is applied to remove the desired cocoa butter. The fat drains away through metallic screens as a yellow liquid. It is then collected for use in chocolate manufacturing.

Cocoa butter has such importance for the chocolate industry that it deserves more than a passing mention. It is unique among vegetable fats because it is a solid at normal room temperature and melts at 89 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit, which is just below body temperature. Its success in resisting oxidation and rancidity makes it very practical. Under normal storage conditions, cocoa butter can be kept for years without spoiling.

The pressed cake that is left after the removal of cocoa butter can be cooled, pulverized and sifted into cocoa powder. Cocoa that is packaged for sale to grocery stores or put into bulk for use as a flavor by dairies, bakeries, and confectionery manufacturers, may have 10 percent or more cocoa butter content. "Breakfast cocoa," a less common type, must contain at least 22 percent cocoa butter.

In the so-called "Dutch" process, the manufacturer treats the cocoa with an alkali to develop a slightly different flavor and give the cocoa a darker appearance characteristic of the Dutch type. The alkali acts as a processing agent rather than as a flavor ingredient.

How to Make Eating Chocolate
While cocoa is made by removing some of the cocoa butter, eating chocolate is made by adding it. This holds true of all eating chocolate, whether it is dark, bittersweet, or milk chocolate. Besides enhancing the flavor, the added cocoa butter serves to make the chocolate more fluid.

One example of eating chocolate is sweet chocolate, a combination of unsweetened chocolate, sugar, cocoa butter and perhaps a little vanilla. Making it entails melting and combining the ingredients in a large mixing machine until the mass has the consistency of dough.

Milk chocolate, the most common form of eating chocolate, goes through essentially the same mixing process-except that it involves using less unsweetened chocolate and adding milk.

Whatever ingredients are used, the mixture then travels through a series of heavy rollers set one atop the other. Under the grinding that takes place here, the mixture is refined to a smooth paste ready for "conching."

What is Conching?
Conching is a flavor development process which puts the chocolate through a "kneading" action and takes its name from the shell-like shape of the containers originally employed. The "conches," as the machines are called, are equipped with heavy rollers that plow back and forth through the chocolate mass anywhere from a few hours to several days. Under regulated speeds, these rollers can produce different degrees of agitation and aeration in developing and modifying the chocolate flavors.

In some manufacturing setups, there is an emulsifying operation that either takes the place of conching or else supplements it. This operation is carried out by a machine that works like an eggbeater to break up sugar crystals and other particles in the chocolate mixture to give it a fine, velvety smoothness.

After the emulsifying or conching machines, the mixture goes through a tempering interval-heating, cooling and reheating-and then at last into molds to be formed into the shape of the complete product. The molds take a variety of shapes and sizes, from the popular individual-size bars available to consumers to a ten-pound block used by confectionery manufacturers.

Ready for Shipment
When the molded chocolate reaches the cooling chamber, cooling proceeds at a fixed rate that keeps hard-earned flavor intact. The bars are then removed from the molds and passed along to wrapping machines to be packed for shipment to distributors, confectioners and others throughout the country.

For convenience, chocolate is frequently shipped in a liquid state when intended for use by other food manufacturers. Whether solid or liquid, it provides candy, cookie, and ice cream manufacturers with the most popular flavor for their products. Additionally, a portion of the United State's total chocolate output goes into coatings, powders and flavorings that add zest to our foods in a thousand different ways.

-from www.candyusa.com

Myths and Facts

Many of the old myths about chocolate and health are crumbling under the weight of scientific fact. The once-prevalent belief that something that tastes so good just cannot be good for you has given way to a more balanced picture of chocolate and cocoa products and their relation to health and nutrition.

The following are brief reviews on recent findings which counter several of the common misinterpretations of the effects of chocolate on health.

Chocolate and Acne
Over the past two decades, research has revealed that chocolate neither causes nor aggravates acne. Acne, a condition resulting from the extreme activity of the skin's oil glands during puberty, is not linked primarily to diet. In research conducted at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology, a control group was given a bar with no chocolate which resembled a chocolate bar and had 28 percent vegetable fat to imitate the fat content of chocolate liquor and cocoa butter. A similar group was given real chocolate, but the test bars contained almost 10 times as much chocolate liquor as a normal 1.4 ounce chocolate bar. At the end of the test, the average acne condition of the persons in the group eating chocolate was almost the same as those who had no chocolate.

A group of 80 midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, all of whom had acne conditions ranging from mild to moderate, were divided into groups, both experiencing the same living, dining and physical activities. One group avoided all chocolate for four weeks, the other included a minimum of three bars in their daily diet. After four weeks, the groups exchanged eating patterns. Clinical observations, facial overlays and photographs showed no significant changes in the acne conditions in either group.

Chocolate and Caffeine
The amount of caffeine ingested when people eat chocolate in normal quantities is very small. 1.4 ounces of milk chocolate, for example, contains about 6 milligrams of caffeine, about the same as the amount found in a cup of decaffeinated coffee. Thus, the role of caffeine in chocolate is largely a non-issue.

Chocolate and Dental Cavities
Tooth decay has become less of a problem for Americans over the last 30 years. Between 1960 and 1980 the incidence of cavities dropped by 50 percent. Today, more than one-third of all college-aged Americans have never had a single cavity.

It is widely accepted that all foods containing "fermentable carbohydrates" have the potential to contribute to caries formation. Fermentable carbohydrates are present in starches and sugars, including those that occur naturally in foods and those added in processed foods. Frequency and duration of tooth exposure to fermentable carbohydrates have been identified as factors in caries.

Although chocolate contains fermentable carbohydrates, a number of dental research studies suggest that chocolate may be less apt to promote tooth decay than has been traditionally believed. Research at the Forsyth Dental Center in Boston and at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine has shown that cocoa and chocolate have the ability to offset the acid-producing potential of the sugar they contain. Acid, produced by certain oral bacteria that digest or "ferment" sugars, can damage tooth enamel and cause decay. Cocoa and chocolate have also been shown to reduce the demineralization process-an activity which directly results in the formation of dental caries.

In a study conducted at the Eastman Dental Center in Rochester, New York, milk chocolate and chocolate chip cookies were found to be among the snack foods which contribute least to dental decay. The researchers reported that: "Milk chocolate has a high content of protein, calcium, phosphate and other minerals, all of which have exhibited protective effects on tooth enamel. In addition, due to its natural fat content, milk chocolate clears the mouth relatively faster than other candies. These factors are thought to be responsible for making milk chocolate less cariogenic."

Chocolate and Nutrients
Chocolate provides a number of nutrients the body requires daily. A milk chocolate bar weighing 1.4 ounces contains about three grams of protein, fifteen percent of the Daily Value of riboflavin, nine percent of the Daily Value for calcium and seven percent of the Daily Value for iron.

Almonds and peanuts added to chocolate increase the nutrients in a bar. This is particularly true for protein. Milk chocolate bars with almonds also have increased amounts of calcium, iron and riboflavin.

Chocolate and Weight Control
Contrary to the popular stereotype, most overweight people do not eat excessive amounts of cake, cookies, confectionery or other foods containing sugar. Their sugar intake tends, in fact, to be below average.

More important in controlling weight is the total number of calories consumed each day and the amount of energy expended in physical activity. Overweight children, for example, are generally less active than those of normal weight; thus, they may remain overweight even when their caloric intake is reasonable or even limited.

Moreover, many people overestimate the calories in chocolate. A 1.4 ounce milk chocolate bar contains approximately 210 calories-low enough to incorporate into a weight control diet. The occasional chocolate confection may also reduce the possibility of a binge, which can occur as a result of feeling deprived of highly satisfying foods such as chocolate.

Chocolate and Cocoa Butter
Cocoa butter, the fat that occurs naturally in cocoa beans, gives chocolate its distinctive smoothness and "melt-in-the-mouth" texture. Research has shown that cocoa butter, despite its high saturated fat content, does not raise blood cholesterol levels as do other saturated fats. This is due to its high stearic acid content. Stearic acid, one of the principal fatty acids in cocoa butter, has been found to be used in the body differently, in that it may reduce levels of cholesterol in the blood.

Chocolate Milk
Lastly, about chocolate milk. Chocolate milk provides more zinc, potassium, niacin and riboflavin than plain whole milk. In terms of calcium, protein and vitamin B, plain milk has slightly more. For all other nutrients, plain milk and chocolate milk are about the same.

Additionally, children are more likely to drink chocolate milk than plain milk. Studies have shown that the amount of chocolate milk left undrunk by children in grades 1 through 5 was about two-thirds less than when only plain milk was offered.

Moreover, research conducted at the University of Rhode Island suggests chocolate milk may have benefits for individuals who are lactose intolerant. Research reveals that lactose intolerant individuals who consumed chocolate milk showed significant reductions in their symptoms.

-from www.candyusa.com

Theobroma Cacao. Food of the Gods.

The Latin name, Theobroma Cacao, was given to chocolate many centuries ago and still appropriately describes the strong attachment people worldwide have with this wonderful food today. When ancient Indians of Central America first crushed cocoa beans and mixed them with water more than 2000 years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine the many ways we now enjoy this favorite food.

-from www.candyusa.com

The Story of Chocolate

Chocolate: The Food of the Gods
The story of chocolate, as far back as we know it, begins more than 2000 years ago in equatorial Central America where the Mayan Indians held cocoa beans in high regard. Images of cocoa pods were carved into the walls of their elaborate stone temples, and Mayan writings refer to cacao as "food of the gods." It was the Mayans who first created a beverage from crushed cocoa beans which was enjoyed by royalty and shared at sacred ceremonies.

Chocolate's importance in the Aztec Empire also is clearly recorded. The Aztecs called the prized drink they made from cocoa beans "chocolatl," which means "warm liquid." Like the earlier Mayans, the Aztecs drank the unsweetened beverage during special ceremonies. Montezuma II, a royal monarch of the Aztecs, maintained great storehouses filled with cocoa beans and reportedly consumed 50 or more portions of chocolatl daily from a golden goblet.

Cocoa beans, however, weren't only consumed. Both the Mayans and the Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency. According to a 16th century Spanish chronicle, a rabbit was worth 4 - 10 cocoa beans and a mule cost 50 beans.

Europe was first introduced to the principal ingredient of chocolate when Christopher Columbus brought a handful of the dark, almond-shaped beans back to Spain from his last voyage to the Caribbean islands in 1502. He presented many strange and wonderful objects from the lands he explored to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Included among them were cocoa beans, placed before royalty as little more than a curiosity. They appeared most unpromising. The King and Queen of Spain never dreamed how important cocoa beans would become.

It remained for Hernando Cortes, the Spanish explorer, to grasp the commercial possibilities of cocoa beans.

Chocolate Travels to Spain
When Cortes arrived in what is now known as Mexico in 1519, the Aztecs mistakenly believed that he was the reincarnation of a former god-king who had been exiled from the land. They did not realize that Cortes was seeking Aztec gold which was rumored to exist. Montezuma greeted the Spanish explorers with a large banquet which included cups of a bitter chocolate drink. By the time the Aztecs realized their mistake, the Spanish had begun to overpower them. Within three years, Cortes and his followers brought about the fall of the Aztec empire.

During this time, Cortes realized the economic potential for cocoa beans. He experimented with chocolatl, adding cane sugar to make it more agreeable to Spanish tastes. He also established additional cacao plantings in the Caribbean region before returning to Spain.

Back in Spain, the new version of chocolatl found favor with the wealthy, and continued to undergo flavor refinements. Newly imported spices, such as cinnamon and vanilla, were added to the drink. Ultimately, someone decided the drink would taste better if served steaming hot, creating the first hot chocolate, which quickly won followers among the Spanish aristocracy. Spain proceeded to plant more cacao trees in its overseas colonies in Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru and Jamaica to ensure an ample supply of cocoa beans. Remarkably, the Spanish were able to keep their ventures in cocoa cultivation and their creation of early cocoa drinks a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly one hundred years.

Chocolate Spreads Across Europe
Spanish monks were assigned the task of processing the cocoa beans. It may have been these monks who let out the secret by discussing cocoa with their French counterparts. Then, in 1580, the first cocoa processing plant was established in Spain. It did not take long before chocolate was acclaimed throughout Europe as a delicious, health-giving drink. For a while it reigned as the chosen beverage at the fashionable Court of France. Chocolate drinking spread across the English Channel to Great Britain, and in 1657 the first of many famous English Chocolate Houses appeared.

Mass production of cocoa became possible with the introduction of a perfected steam engine, which mechanized the cocoa grinding process. By 1730, cocoa had dropped in price from three dollars or more per pound to within financial reach of all.

The invention of the cocoa press in 1828 was another major breakthrough in cocoa production. This not only helped reduce prices even further, but more importantly, improved the quality of the beverage by squeezing out about half of the cocoa butter (the fat that occurs naturally in cocoa beans) from the ground-up beans, leaving behind a cake-like residue that could be further processed into a fine powder. From then on, chocolate drinks had more of the smooth consistency and the recognizable flavor of those enjoyed today.

The 19th Century witnessed two more revolutionary developments in the history of chocolate. In 1847, an English company introduced the first solid eating chocolate made by combining melted cocoa butter with sugar and cocoa powder. This chocolate had a smooth, velvety texture and quickly replaced the old coarse-grained chocolate which formerly dominated the world market. The second development occurred in 1876 in Vevey, Switzerland, when Daniel Peter devised a way of adding milk to chocolate, creating the product we enjoy today known as milk chocolate.

Chocolate Comes to America
In the United States of America, the production of chocolate proceeded at a faster pace than anywhere else in the world. It was in pre-revolutionary New England - 1765, to be exact - that the first chocolate factory was established in this country. During World War II, the U.S. government recognized chocolate's role in the nourishment and group spirit of the Allied Armed Forces, so much so that it allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans. Many soldiers were thankful for the chocolate bars, which gave them the energy to carry on until more food rations could be obtained. Today, the U.S. Army's Meals Ready to Eat contain chocolate bars and chocolate candies, and chocolate has been taken into space as part of the diet of U.S. astronauts.

-from www.candyusa.com