History of Chocolate

The cacao tree originated in the western hemisphere, where it grows in tropical climates from northern South America to southern Mexico. Long before the European discovery of the Americas, native peoples, including the Mayas and Aztecs, brewed a bitter, unsweetened beverage from the beans, which they had learned to ferment and dry. The beverages, probably enjoyed hot, were often flavoured with chiles, vanilla, and other ingredients.

Because the cacao tree grew in limited areas, the pods were prized and became objects of trade. They were even used for currency. In addition, they were important in religious ceremonies.

Spanish conquerors at first disliked the bitter, black beverage the natives brewed from cacao, but they soon learned to appreciate it and began carrying cocoa beans back to Europe in the 1500s. Availability was limited at first, but by 1700 cocoa had spread through much of Europe. Its use was still mostly as a beverage, although Europeans found they enjoyed the drink more when it was sweetened. Cocoa was also used as a medicine and as a cooking spice.

In the early 1800s, a Dutchman named van Houten developed a process for removing much of the cocoa butter from raw cocoa, using a powerful press. He also discovered that processing the cocoa with an alkali yielded a milder product with a darker colour. This “dutching” process is still used today for some cocoa.

Van Houten’s inventions enabled the development of modern chocolate manufacturing and the use of chocolate for confections and not just as a beverage. Manufacturers discovered that by adding cocoa butter back to ground cocoa, they could make a smooth paste that hardened into blocks. In 1842, the Cadbury brothers began selling block chocolate in England.

In the 1880s, the Swiss Rudolphe Lindt invented the conching process (described in the text) to make a smoother product. Around the same time, another Swiss, Daniel Peter, created milk chocolate by adding dried milk to the paste. (Dried milk had been invented by Henri Nestlé).