Richardson

Chocolate has a long history than most people would imagine. I will discuss the key aspects known about chocolate and its evolution over time.

Chocolate is derived from the cacao tree. It does not have a specific harvesting season, rather grows at different times throughout the year. There are seedpods which grow right out of the trunk. If you were to split the pod the cocoa beans would then be revealed.

Chocolate is sweet just like sugar. There aren’t many people who will tell you they don’t enjoy the flavor. People, especially women, always have uncontrollable urges to consume chocolate and rationing is not an option. Chocolate is considered to be a natural aphrodisiac, relating to our sexual urges and temptations. It comes in many forms and in many different tastes. Chocolate is considered an addiction like any other, and gives you plenty of energy.

Throughout the first 2 thousand years of its history, chocolate wasn’t used to eat. It was a drink, and the solids from it were considered waste that would be discarded. Drinking chocolate was popular in the 1660’s.

Mixing chocolate was made popular by the Spanish in the 1600’s. It was mixed with such things like cinnamon; Aztecs used cornmeal as a thickener, ground almonds and sugar. During the 17th century in Spain, chocolate drinks were sweet/rich and used during breakfast. In the 18th century progressive thinkers and men of enlightenment started to prefer coffee over chocolate.

By the 1680’s sugar/vanilla were popular uses in chocolate. Chocolate with milk and water became famous in England.

Chocolate was considered beneficial to health, and was used as a form of medicine. Once sugar was added with chocolate, tea and coffee, it was considered to be poison.

Chocolate was known to be a money maker, and it became basic items which would be sold to chemist’s shops. It made a fortune. Once America started liking chocolate by the 1700’s, it was being sold in grocery stores, corner stores and even drug stores.

The only complaints that were made about the chocolate drink was the oiliness of the cocoa butter in chocolate. The texture cocoa butter made was awful, but this is where the true value of chocolate came from.

In the 1800’s, moulded chocolate became quite popular. The new taste and consistency created mass production. By the 1870’s, eating chocolate became prominent, and manufacturing companies expanded.

The price of chocolate decreased a lot in the last twenty years of the 19th century. Ordinary people could buy it, but chocolate was still considered a luxury. It became an everyday purchase for most people.

In the 1900’s, chocolate bars by themselves were considered to be very boring. Due to this reason, adding nuts, fruits and other flavors to chocolate added interest to bars. White chocolate was completely different from regular chocolate. It was comprised of cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar and vanilla only.

Tastes differed in every country. Everyone enjoyed buying and consuming chocolate that originated from their own area. Cheap chocolate contained 15% cocoa solids, while dark and other rich chocolates contained up to 70% cocoa solids. Some people preferred tastes depending on the % or rating of cocoa solids.

Since everyone has different feelings about different kinds of chocolate, it should be wrong to determine your preference through the opinion of a chocolate connoisseur.

The effects of chocolate are more noticeable in women. They take on a sexual character when introduced to chocolate. For women, chocolate is more appealing to them during pregnancy and the pre-menstrual cycle. This is because low endorphin levels occur during these times, and chocolate helps to stimulate endorphin levels in the body.