Chocolates are the most popular food around the world and across all ages. Chocolates are often used to show love and affection and people even have it to lift spirits. Ever wondered where this ubiquitous chocolate originated? Well, historians believe that the word Chocolate or Chocolatl originates from the Nahuatl word xocoatl or cacahuatl meaning bitter water. Some believe that it is a combination of the Mayan words "choco" and "haa" and the Nauhatl term "atl". Recently linguists proposed another theory that it originates from "chicolatl" from the word chico-li meaning to beat or stir and not Chocoatl. A Swedish person gave the cocoa plant its botanical name "Theobroma cacao" which when literally translated means "Food of the Gods".
Most of us know that chocolates are made from cocoa beans that have been cultivated for millions of years in the South American Rainforests. An archaeological survey showed the physical residue of chocolate in some Mayan pots suggesting that Mayans drank chocolate some 2600 years ago. Some believe that the cocoa plant was cultivated in the Amazon region for more than 4000 years. According to historians, the cacao tree was worshipped by the Mayans and the Aztecs offered chocolate to the God as an offering. According to ancient history, Aztecs brewed the cocoa beans with maize and capsicum to form a spicy bitter-sweet drink, which was fermented and used for ceremonies. Aztecs valued their cocoa beans, though it was not cultivated there. They got it through trade or war but it was treated equivalent to currency, with taxes being paid in the form of cocoa beans.
Cocoa trees have been linked by the Mexicans to Quetzalcoatl, who was the God of agriculture. Myth has it that Quetzalcoatl left the Aztec empire and the people anxiously awaiting his return, sent offerings of the cocoa beans and chocolate drink, when they saw a ship nearing their shores, believing it to be Quetzalcoatl. However, later they found out that the ship was an invading European ship, which wanted to conquer and acquire their lands.
Chocolate came to Europe in the 16th century with a Spanish explorer - Don Hernan Cortes. However, some historians differ and state that chocolate came to Europe through Christopher Columbus, who had these beans in his bag when he returned from his trip to search for the Americas.
Once in Europe, the tradition of drinking hot chocolate, as we know it today, began in Spain. The Spaniards did not like to consume it the Aztec way. They ground cocoa beans to paste and mixed it with spices, vanilla and honey. Then brewed and poured it into cups from great height to create a frothy feeling. This drink was served to travelers and was a common drink with the nobility. Historians might differ over who brought the bean culture to Europe but they are all united over the fact that it was Don Cortes who popularized the drink. Initially, this drink was popular with the Spaniards but almost a century later, it became popular in the rest of Europe. Chocolate went to the French much later and the French, being culinary trendsetters, popularized the drink and created modern day coffee houses that serve this delicious beverage.
America was introduced to the wonders of chocolate well before England in the late 16th century when the first chocolate factory was established in 1765. During World War II, the US Government realized the importance of the chocolate bars and the instant energy that it provided and immediately shipped a lot of these bars to the soldiers. Chocolate came to England in the late 17th century, when Sir Hans Sloane was drinking cocoa in Jamaica and finding it unpalatable, added milk. As he liked it, he took the recipe to England. However, initially this brew was sold in England as medicine in apothecaries! This recipe was then used by Cadburys to manufacture the chocolate as we know it today. The first commercial chocolate factory was established in the late 18th century in Bristol by Walter Churchman.
In the early 19th century, a Dutch chocolate maker, by the name of Conrad J. van Houten, patented the method of removing fat from cocoa beans and producing a cake like substance which when dried and powdered led to the creation of what we know today as cocoa powder. This cocoa powder was then treated with alkaline salts, which made it easily soluble in water. This was the starting point for creating chocolates in the form that we know and love today. Cocoa powder is extensively used in the manufacture of cakes, chocolate drinks and chocolate bars.
After the production of cocoa in the powder form, the next obvious step was to make chocolate in the solid form, as the bars we get to see these days. The first primitive version of the chocolate bar was initially created by J.S. Fry and Son in 1847, when they mixed sugar and cocoa butter with chocolate powder to produce a dry, grainy and not particularly tasty solid slab. The Swiss being naturally creative, invented newer forms of chocolate, more like the ones we love and know today. Invention of milk chocolate by adding more milk and sugar to the existing recipe was made by Henri Nestle and Daniel Peters.
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