History
of Chocolate
Along
with potatoes, avocados and maize, the Americas gave chocolate to the
world. When the conquistador Cortez came to Mexico, he asked for treasure
and was led to mountains of stockpiled cocoa beans. He managed to explain
that he meant gold.
The Mayans and later
the Aztecs believed that cocoa was the food of the gods. They roasted
the cocoa beans and then pounded them to a paste. The paste was mixed
with spices, capsicum pepper and flavorings and diluted with water and
drunk or was used to make cakes. They used the chocolate to give them
strength and vigour and during religious ceremonies as an aphrodisiac.
Cortez tried it and he liked it. After he returned to Spain in 1527, he
was known to keep a full chocolate pot on his desk.
Christian nuns on
missionary to Central America believed that the diabolical powers of chocolate
were due to the chili peppers and spices, so they replaced them with vanilla,
sugar and cream with delightful results.
By 1660, chocolate
houses were the vogue in Britian and the drink was popular in French court
circles.
The origins of chocolate, which is derived from the Theobroma cacao tree,
stretch back at least 4000 years.
The plant is believed to have originated in the Amazon or Orinoco basins
in South America and was regarded by the Aztecs as being of divine origin
('Theobroma' means 'food of the gods'). They used the tree's beans as
currency - 100 beans would buy a slave, 12 beans the services of a courtesan
and 10 beans a rabbit.
The Aztecs created what we now know as chocolate by fermenting, drying
and roasting the beans and then grinding the kernels to produce cocoa
mass (chocolate liquor).
Although Christopher Columbus was the first European to carry beans back
to Europe (around 1502) they were as curiosities but it is his fellow
countryman, the conquistador Herman Cortes, who is credited with introducing
them to the Western World a little over 40 years later.
Records suggest that he didn't particularly like the Aztec delicacy of
"hot chocolate"- a thick cocoa drink laced with ground chillies
and dyed red with annatto to look like blood - but recognising its potential
he took a load of cocoa beans back to Spain. These were used to seed plantations
in Trinidad, Haiti and the West African island of Fernando Po (now Bioko)
and gave Spain a virtual monopoly of the cocoa market for almost a century.
From the sixteenth century onwards, cocoa cultivation spread to the other
Caribbean Islands, parts of South America, islands in the Gulf of Guinea
and South East Asia and more recently to the South Pacific Islands of
Samoa and New Guinea.
Chocolate drinks were developed in Spain that were seasoned with pepper,
vanilla, sugar and cinnamon or mixed with beer or wine. They became such
a hit that Spanish society ladies had them served during Mass. When the
French latched on to it, they immediately hailed it as a wondrous aphrodisiac
and, by slapping heavy taxes on it, further enhanced its status as a drink
for the rich and decadent.
It is recorded that Sir Hans Sloane was introduced to cocoa as a drink
in Jamaica during his stay in the 1680's. He apparently found it 'nauseous'
but by mixing it with milk made it more palatable. He took this chocolate
recipe to England on his return where it was manufactured and at first
sold by apothecaries as a medicine. Much later, Cadburys manufactured
chocolate using Sloane's recipe.
In 17th and 18th century England, the drink became so popular that chocolate
houses threatened the existence of the traditional English pub.
The first commercial chocolate factory in the UK began in Bristol in
1728, owned by Walter Churchman. After the death of Walter and his son
Charles, who took over from him, the patent and recipes were purchased
by Dr Joseph Fry (around 1761). Fry died in 1787 and the business was
then operated by his wife Anna and later by his third son, Joseph Storrs
Fry (J.S. Fry).
The first primitive version of the chocolate bar is credited to J.S. Fry
and Son, when in 1847 they mixed sugar and cocoa butter with chocolate
powder to produce a dry, grainy and not particularly tasty solid slab.
Milk chocolate was a much later invention and the eating chocolate of
today began in 1876 when Henri Nestle and Daniel Peters added milk and
extra sugar to create the world's first milk chocolate bar.
--------------------------------------------
from Erowid
c. 600 B.C. Mayans drank a beverage containing chocolate. Recent research
(2002) discovered traces of theobromine (found in chocolate) in three
separate tea pots from a Mayan burial ground in Colha, Belize. 1
1502 Christopher Columbus encountered cacao beans in a Maya trading canoe.
It is apparent to him that they are considered important and valuable
because of the way they are handled by the traders. He brought samples
to King Ferdinand among other treasures, but their use and value is not
fully recognized.
1519 Cortés meets Moctezuma II, the Aztec Emperor, and witnesses
his consumption of "chocolatl", a cold, thick, bitter, beverage
made from cocoa beans and a variety of herbs and spices. [Details]
1525-1600 Europeans develops a taste for hot chocolate and Spain builds
a lucrative buisiness cultivating cacao beans in many of its overseas
colonies. It keeps the art of the process secret from the rest of Europe
for nearly 100 years.
1528 Cortés and his men return to Spain and bring chests of cacao
beans. It soon becomes popular with the Spanish upper class who modernize
the bitter drink by sweetening it with cane sugar and adding vanilla.
1600-1650 The use of hot chocolate spreads throughout Europe and becomes
the drink of choice in many courts.
1657 The first of many famous English Chocolate Houses opens selling hot
chocolate.
1685 Treatise on coffee, tea and chocolate published by French druggist
Dufour, titled "Traitez nouveaux & curieux du café du
thé et du chocolate". [Details]
c. 1700 The cocoa grinding process is mechanized with a steam engine and
hand methods of chocolate manufacture give way to mass production. By
1730, the price of chocolate has dropped dramatically to the point where
it is affordable by the average person.
1765 The first American chocolate factory was built in New England.
1826 Earliest known reference to chocolate candy in the UK in an advertisement
for Fry's Chocolate Lozenges. [Details]
1828 The cocoa press is invented, causing further drops in the prices
of chocolate as well as improving the quality of hot chocolate by removing
some of the cocoa butter that occurs naturally in the beans. 2
1842 Solid 'eating chocolate' is introduced for the first time by John
Cadbury. Its production was made possible through the development of fondant
chocolate, a smoother variety that almost completely replaced the old
coarse grained chocolate which formerly dominated the world market. 2
1875 In Vevey, Switzerland, Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle revolutionize
chocolate by adding milk and creating the first milk chocolate.
1876 Milton Hershey opens his first candy shop in Pennsylvania. 3
1894 Hershey Chocolate Company begins producing baking chocolate, cocoa
and sweet chocolate coatings for caramels. 3
------------------------
Cocoa And The Maya Civilisation
It was the Maya Indians, an ancient people whose descendants still live
in Central America, who first discovered the delights of cocoa as long
ago as 600 AD.
The Yucatan Peninsula, a tropical area in what is now Southern Mexico,
where wild cocoa trees grew, was where the Maya lived. They harvested
cocoa beans from the rain forest trees, then cleared areas of lowland
forest to grow their own cocoa trees in the first known cocoa plantations.
A drink called 'chocolatl' made from roasted cocoa beans, water and a
little spice, was their most important use but cocoa beans were also valued
as a currency.
Because cocoa beans were valuable, they were given as gifts at ceremonies
such as a child's coming of age and at religious ceremonies. The Maya
had very many complicated religious beliefs with many gods. Ek Chuah,
the merchant god, was closely linked with cocoa and cocoa fruits were
used at festivals in honour of this god. Merchants often traded cocoa
beans for other commodities , cloth, jade and ceremonial feathers.
Maya farmers transported their cocoa beans to market by canoe or in large
baskets strapped to their backs. Wealthy merchants travelled further employing
porters to carry their wares as there were no horses, pack animals or
wheeled carts in Central America at that time. Some ventured as far as
Mexico the land of the Aztecs, so introducing them to the much prized
cocoa beans.
The Aztec Empire, cocoa and the Emperor Moctezuma
The Aztecs were an ancient nomadic people who founded a great city in
the Valley of Mexico in 1325 - Tenochtitlan. This rich prosperous city
and its culture were destroyed by the Spanish in 1521, to be later rebuilt
by the Spanish conquerors and renamed Mexico City.
'Chocolatl' was consumed in large quantities by the Aztecs as a luxury
drink. The Aztec version of this much prized drink was described as 'finely
ground, soft, foamy, reddish, bitter with chilli water, aromatic flowers,
vanilla and wild bee honey.
Because of their dry climate the Aztecs were unable to grow cocoa trees
themselves so they had to obtain supplies of cocoa beans from 'tribute'
or trade. 'Tribute' was a form of taxation paid by provinces conquered
by the Aztecs in wars.
By the time the Spanish invaded Mexico in the 16th century the Aztecs
had created a powerful empire: their armies were supreme in Mexico. Tributes
in the form of food, cloth and luxury items such as cocoa beans flowed
into Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs were very superstitious; they had many gods
and believed that their world was constantly threatened by catastrophe.
One god Quetzalcoatl, creator god and provide of agriculture, was particularly
associated with cocoa beans. Great temples were built to honour him in
Tenochtitlan; Moctezuma, Emperor of Mexico and ruler of the Aztecs in
the early 16th century particularly revered him.
Quetzalcoatl is further linked with the story of cocoa and chocolate.
An old Mexican Indian myth explains that Quetzalcoatl was forced to leave
the country by a chief god, but he was lovingly remembered by his devoted
worshippers who hoped that he would return. Until that time they still
had his legacy - the cocoa tree. When Don Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador
arrived in 1517 with his fleet of galleons, the Aztecs thought that he
was Quetzalcoatl returning.
The word "chocolate" is said to derive from the Mayan "xocoatl";
cocoa from the Aztec "cacahuatl." The Mexican Indian word "chocolate"
comes from a combination of the terms choco ("foam") and atl
("water"); early chocolate was only consumed in beverage form.
1502-04
Christopher Columbus is said to have brought back cacao beans to King
Ferdinand from his fourth visit to the New World, but they were overlooked
in favour of the many other treasures he had found.
1517
The voyage which led Don Cortes to discover Mexico and the Aztec civilisation
began in 1517 when he set sail from Cuba with 11 ships and 600 men, all
seeking fame and fortune in the 'New World'. Landing on the Mexican coast
near Veracruz, he decided to make his way to Tenochtitlan to see for himself
the famed riches of Emperor Montezuma and the Aztec empire.
It was Montezuma who introduced Don Cortes to his favourite drink 'chocolatl'
served in a golden goblet. American historian William Hickling's ‘History
of the Conquest of Mexico’ (1838) reports that Montezuma" took
no other beverage than the chocolatl, a potation of chocolate, flavored
with vanilla and spices, and so prepared as to be reduced to a froth of
the consistency of honey, which gradually dissolved in the mouth and was
taken cold." The fact that Montezuma consumed his "chocolatl"
in goblets before entering his harem led to the belief that it was an
aphrodisiac.
1520
In May 1520 the Spanish attacked a peaceful Aztec festival, Montezuma
was killed and by July the Aztecs had forced the Spanish out of the city
of Tenochtitlan. After regaining their strength, the Spanish and their
allies held the city siege for 75 days and when it fell that marked the
end of the Aztec civilisation.
1528
When he returned to Spain in 1528 he loaded his galleons with cocoa beans
and chocolate drink making equipment. Soon 'chocolate' became a fashionable
drink enjoyed by the rich in Spain. It took nearly a century for the news
of cocoa and chocolate to spread across Europe as the Spanish kept it
a closely guarded secret.
Once Don Cortes had provided the Spanish with a supply of cocoa beans
and the equipment to make the chocolate drink, a Spanish version of the
recipe was devised. Monks in monasteries known for their pharmaceutical
skills were chosen to process the beans and perfect the drink to Spanish
tastes. Cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar were added and the chilli pepper was
omitted and it was discovered that chocolate tasted even better served
hot. Cocoa beans were in short supply so the special chocolate drink recipe
was a closely guarded secret for nearly a century.
English and Dutch sailors, who found cocoa beans in the Spanish 'treasure'
ships captured as they returned from 'New World', failed to recognise
their importance. The precious beans were thrown overboard by the angry
sailors who were reputed to have thought that they were 'sheep's droppings'.
1606
By 1606 chocolate was well established in Italy. An Italian traveller,
Francesco Carletti, was the first to break the Spanish monopoly having
visited Central America where he saw how the Indians prepared the cocoa
beans and how they made the drink.
In the 17th century, the Dutch, who were great navigators, also broke
Spain's monopoly of cocoa when they captured Curacao. They not only brought
cocoa beans from America to Holland where cocoa was greatly acclaimed
and recommended by doctors as a cure for almost every ailment, but also
enabled the trade in cocoa beans to spread.
1615
The secret of chocolate was taken to France in 1615 when Anne, daughter
of Philip II of Spain married King Louis XIII of France. The French court
adopted this new exotic drink with great fervour and it was considered
to have medicinal benefits as well as being a nourishing food.
The supply of cocoa beans to the French market greatly improved after
1684 when France conquered Cuba and Haiti and set up their own cocoa plantations.
1646
Chocolate reached Germany probably in 1646 brought back by visitors to
Italy. The secret of the aromatic chocolate flavoured drinks finally reached
England from France in the 1650s and they became very popular at the court
of King Charles II.
1657
The first chocolate house was reputedly opened in London in 1657 by a
Frenchman. Costing 10 to 15 shillings per pound, chocolate was considered
a beverage for the elite class. Sixteenth-century Spanish historian Oviedo,
noted: "None but the rich and noble could afford to drink chocolatl
as it was literally drinking money. Cocoa passed currency as money among
all nations; thus a rabbit in Nicaragua sold for 10 cocoa nibs, and 100
of these seeds could buy a tolerably good slave."
1660
Marie Therese presents her husband; Louis 14th of France with a wedding
gift of chocolate. Louise establishes the title "Royal chocolate
maker", the first of which is bestowed on one Monsieur Debauve. (see
1819)
1661
Other fashionable chocolate houses were soon opened where the people could
meet their friends to enjoy various rich chocolate drinks, many of which
were rather bitter to taste, while discussing the serious political, social
and business affairs of the day or gossiping. Samuel Pepys, the famous
diarist , wrote of his visits to chocolate houses ........"Went to
Mr Bland's and there drank my morning draft of chocollatte."
Chocolate also appears to have been used as a medicinal remedy by leading
physicians of the day. Christopher Ludwig Hoffmann's treatise; ‘Potus
Chocolate’, recommends chocolate for many diseases, citing it as
a cure for Cardinal Richelieu's ills.
1662
Louis 14th of France (after consulting with his Jesuit advisors) declares
that the drinking of chocolate does not break the fast before Easter,
Pope Gregory 13th confirms this.
16??
Thomas Gage writes his story 'Death by Chocolate'
1664
(Eating chocolate was introduced in 1674 in the form of rolls and cakes,
served in the various chocolate Emporiums) ?.
1693
The most famous chocolate house was undoubtly White's Chocolate House,
in the fashionable St James Street opened in 1693 by Frances White, an
Italian immigrant. The chocolate drinks, served along with ale, beer,
snacks and coffee, would have been made from blocks of solid cocoa, probably
imported from Spain. A pressed cake from which the drink could be made
at home was also sold.
1700's
The first porcelain chocolate cup is produced.
Around 1700 the English improved the drink by adding milk. But by the
end of the 18th century London's chocolate houses began to disappear,
many of the more fashionable ones becoming smart gentlemen's clubs. White's
Chocolate House is to this day a very exclusive gentlemen's club in St
James' London.
1723
Louis 15th of France comes to the throne (aged 13). One of his mistress'
Madame Dubarry does much to enhance the use of chocolate as an aphrodisiac
1743
Empress of Austria summons Jean Etienne Leotarde to Austria, who wasfamous
for his paintings of woman and/or chocolate. He paints 'La Belle de Chocolatiere',
one of the famous paintings of the period, it depicts the chamber maid
who used to bring him his morning chocolate. She later is to marry an
Austrian Prince.
17??
Mozart immortalises chocolate in his opera 'Cusi van Tuti'
Swedish naturalist; Carolus Linnaeus establishes chocolate's botanical
name 'fia broma' ; Greek for 'Food of the Gods'
1755
Chocolate arrives in the Americas around this time
1765
With the Industrial Revolution came the mass production of chocolate,
spreading its popularity among the citizenry. Chocolate was introduced
to the United States in 1765 when John Hananbrought cocoa beans from the
West Indies into Dorchester, Massachusetts, to refine them with the help
of Dr. James Baker. The first chocolate factory in the USA was established
there. Yet, chocolate wasn't really accepted by the American colonists
until fishermen from Gloucester, Massachusetts, accepted cocoa beans as
payment for cargo in tropical America.
Where chocolate was mostly considered a beverage for centuries, and predominantly
for men, it became recognised as an appropriate drink for children in
the seventeenth century. It had many different additions: milk, wine,
beer, sweeteners, and spices. Drinking chocolate was considered a very
fashionable social event.
1790?
German author Goethe, takes chocolate with him to Switzerland because
of its rarity in that country.
1819
Descendant of Debauve opens a chocolate shop on the left bank of Paris
with his partner Monsieur Gallais; this shop still exists today.
1824
A one man business opened by a young Quaker, John Cadbury, in Bull Street
Birmingham was to be the foundation of Cadbury Limited, now one of the
world's largest producers of chocolate. His first advertisement in the
Birmingham Gazette on 1st March 1824 presents his new sideline very succinctly:
-
"John Cadbury is desirous of introducing to particular notice 'Cocoa
Nibs', prepared by himself, an article affording a most nutritious beverage
for breakfast."
1826
Philip Sucher begins selling chocolate, made with machinery he invented
himself. All this because years earlier being made to buy a pound of chocolate
for his ailing mother, that cost three days wages.
1828
Dutchman C. J. Van Houton invents a screw press that squeezes out 2/3
of the cocoa butter from finely ground cacao beans, thus making cocoa
powder, this helps to reduce the price of chocolate.
The Dutch made chocolate powder by squeezing most of the fat from finely
ground cacao beans. the cocoa butter from the pressing was soon added
to a powder-sugar mixture, and a new product, eating chocolate was born.
1847
Fry's of England sells the first eatable chocolate bar
1850's
Taxes on imported cocoa beans were reduced by Prime Minister William Gladstone
in the mid 1850s, a turning point for the cocoa and chocolate industry
which brought these products within the reach of a wider section of the
population.
1854
Cadbury Brothers received their first Royal Warrant on February 4 1854
as 'manufacturers of cocoa and chocolate to Queen Victoria' and the company
continues to hold Royal warrants of appointment
1866
A turning point for the Cadbury's; with the introduction of a process
for pressing the cocoa butter from the cocoa beans. This not only enabled
Cadbury Brothers to produce pure cocoa essence, but the plentiful supply
of cocoa butter remaining was also used to make new kinds of eating chocolate.
This technique enabled Cadbury Brothers to market a new cocoa essence
..... "Absolutely Pure - Therefore Best".
1876
A Swiss firm added condensed milk to chocolate, producing the worlds first
milk chocolate. Nestle declares that from 1800 to the present day, these
four factors contributed to chocolate's "coming of age" as a
worldwide food product:
The introduction of cocoa powder in 1828;
The reduction of excise duties;
Improvements in transportation facilities, from plantation to factory;
The invention of eating chocolate, and improvements in manufacturing methods.
1879
In Berne Switzerland, Rudolph Lindt develops the process known as 'conching',
the process we still use today. This process involves heating, cooling
and rolling of the chocolate to refine it. This then produced the worlds
first real eating chocolate, that would melt in the mouth.
1881
Cadbury received the first overseas, from the Cadbury representative in
Australia - long before the world famous Cadbury's Dairy Milk had been
developed.
1892
Milton S. Hershey decides at the World's Columbus Exposision, USA, to
get into chocolate making.
1894
Milton S. Hershey produces the worlds first mass produced chocolate bar
at an affordable price
1897
Milk chocolate for eating was first made by Cadbury, by adding milk powder
paste to the dark chocolate recipe of cocoa mass, cocoa butter and sugar.
1900's
The famous French artist; Henri Talouse le Trec is credited with the invention
of chocolate mousse, which was curiously first known as 'mayonnaise de
chocolat'
1905
What was to be Cadbury's top selling brand was launched. Three names were
considered Jersey, Highland Milk and Dairy Maid. Dairy Maid became Dairy
Milk and Cadbury's Dairy Milk with its unique flavour and smooth creamy
texture was ready to challenge the Swiss domination of the milk chocolate
market.
1913
Jules Suchout develops a process for the making of filled chocolates,
thus firmly establishing the Swiss as the Kings of chocolate making.
1914-18
Chocolate is issued to soldiers in the first world war as a form of nourishment.
1916
Cadbury introduces the half pound deep-lidded box with the traditional
purple background and gold script, followed by the one pound box in 1924.
1925
The New York Cocoa Exchange, located at the World Trade Centre, was begun
October 1, 1925, so that buyers and sellers could get together for transactions.
1938
Cadbury's "Roses" launched to compete in the 'twist-wrap' chocolate
market
19435
Non-family directors were appointed for the first time to Cadbury's.
1962
The whole structure of Cadbury's was reorganised with the formation of
a public quoted company - Cadbury Limited.
1969
The merger of the Cadbury Group in 1969 with Schweppes and the subsequent
development of the business led to 'Cadbury Schweppes'.
1980
A story of chocolate espionage hit 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.
Chocolate Today
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, and per capita chocolate consumption is greatly
on the rise. Chocolate manufacturing in the United States is a multibillion-dollar
industry. According to Norman Kolpas (1978, p. 106), "We have seen
how chocolate progressed from a primitive drink and food of ancient Latin
American tribes -- a part of their religious, commerce and social life--
to a drink favoured by the elite of European society and gradually improved
until it was in comparably drinkable and, later, superbly edible. We have
also followed its complex transformation from the closely packed seeds
of the fruit of an exotic tree to a wide variety of carefully manufactured
cocoa and chocolate products. Beyond the historical, agricultural and
commercial, and culinary sides to chocolate, others: affect on our health
and beauty, and inspiration to literature and the arts."
From the three original chests of cacao beans that Cortes exported to
Spain in 1519, the world exports in 1977 were 1.5 million metric tonnes,
one fifth of which went to the USA. Even with this massive amount the
USA only ranks 10th in the world for consumption: 4.5 kg per head per
annum, far behind the number one consumers; the Swiss with 9.5 kg per
annum!
UK food laws are quite specific about what can and cannot be called 'chocolate'.
It is any product that is obtained from cocoa nibs, cocoa mass, cocoa,
fat-reduced cocoa or any combination of two or more of these ingredients,
with or without extracted cocoa butter and sucrose. Chocolate must contain
not less than 35% total dry cocoa solids and not less that 18% cocoa butter.
It is the cocoa solids that give the chocolate its rich flavour and the
amounts included in the recipe vary with different brands, giving them
their own characteristic taste. Milk chocolate may contain a minimum of
14% milk solids or 20% as in Cadbury's Dairy Milk.
There is another range of products popularly referred to as 'cooking
chocolates' many of which in fact should be called 'chocolate flavoured
cake coverings' because they do not contain cocoa butter. Vegetable fats
are used as economic alternatives and this alters not only their taste
and texture but also their melting properties.
Chocolate is a recipe product and different traditions and tastes have
developed in different countries of the world. Plain chocolate is the
most popular on the continent and their chocolate has a higher level of
cocoa solids giving it a much stronger flavour. Milk chocolate is the
preferred choice in the UK, while the Americans favour dark chocolate
with the smoky flavours of South American beans.
Another important difference between the recipe traditions of continental
and UK chocolates is the kind of milk used. Continental manufacturers
use dried milk powder, often mixed with whey powder while in the UK the
very best milk chocolate is made with fresh milk. It is the special flavours
produced when fresh milk, cocoa mass and sugar are cooked together in
the first stages of the chocolate making process that give Cadbury's Diary
Milk its very special taste.
|
