The History of Chocolate

Welcome to the History of Chocolate, please join us on a guided tour of the origins, uses and its place throughout history. We begin our journey with the root of chocolate's beginnings in the 1500's to the 1700's, with its "discovery" by European colonists which was presented as a gift to them by the native Mayan and Aztec peoples. Here you can learn about the cocoa tree itself and how it was granted to colonists at the time. Next you will travel through the 1700's to the 1800's where chocolate was used as a medicine rather than a simple treat as it is today. Here, you will also learn about chocolate's developing equipment as chocolate pots evolve to better meet the masses.

Beginning far before the "discovery" of the New World and all its riches, the simple cocoa bean was first utilized by the native peoples of the land. Cocoa goes from being a highly prized treat for the elite and a mode of currency, to the widely accessible snack it is today.

Cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate was originally called “kakaw” by the Mayan peoples who first discovered and cultivated it.  Ek Chuaj  (Black Scorpion) was associated with and the god of chocolate. He was a merchant deity originally associated with conflict, but became the Mayan God representing the letter M in their alphabet (M for Merchant).

Cocoa is derived from a small tree which was one of the most important trade items and forms of currency for the Aztec’s. The Aztec’s primarily used the “Criollo” genus of the cacao tree, which today is little-used due to its overly delicate nature. The cacao plant is notorious for its “prima donna” nature, as it requires shade during its juvenile stage of growth, and because it is susceptible to fungi and pests. It is because of this, that various other strains of the plant have been developed to combat these threats. Often when growing cacao plants, a cultivator would plant cacao beneath a banana or rubber trees to provide shade and alternate income should the cacao plants fail. The flowers of the cacao tree grow directly on it’s trunk and are pollinated by a small species of fly called a midge. Not all of the flowers on any given cocoa tree will develop a fruit called a “pod.”

The tree produces flowers of saffron yellow or red and large, oval melon-like pods at the same time throughout the year. Made the classical way, cacao was finely ground, to be soft, foamy, reddish and bitter. Cacao was mixed with water and achiote (a natural colourant) to give it a reddish tint, chili peppers for a spicey edge, and wild honey for sweetness. Sometimes the chocolate beverage was enhanced with tropical flowers such as vanilla. Just as important as the taste, chocolate’s visual and textural results were insisted upon by Mesoamericans. For much of cocoa’s early usage, it was reserved for the elite, and it wasn’t until colonial times that it was consumed by the masses. At the time, chocolate was the most popular non-alcoholic drink in Spanish and Colonial Mexico.

This brings us to the next portion of our journey when chocolate was utilized as medicine, rather than as a simple treat. Chocolate was reserved for the upper classes of Europe and the rest of the world just as it had been for the Native peoples of it's homeland. The introduction of cheaper means of melting the chocolate brought it to the middle classes and the masses as time went on.

In the early 1700s, chocolate was primarily used by  European colonists as a medicinal drink (Kirkpatrick 4), and was believed to provide energy and sustenance to the ill. With the embrace of chocolate and cocoa from these colonists, the delicacy was able to be enjoyed by not just those living in areas where the beans were naturally grown. Chocolate, as of this time period was now present in areas such as Italy, France and England (Chavich, 3).

By the mid-1700s the public's ever-changing perception of chocolate was seen as less of a colonist’s elixir, but rather shifting into upper class homes and coffee houses where it could be better enjoyed by individuals who were able to afford the treat. This is mainly because the knowledge of how to make chocolate was extremely limited and inefficient. Isaac Navarro provided the city of Maryland with; "As good Chocolate as was ever made in England," making and selling his delights on Duke of Gloucester Street, according to a notice placed in the Maryland Gazette on Dec. 21, 1748. (Furgurson, 1). At this point the natural ingredient used to make chocolate had undergone enough change to be unrecognizable to the people who first developed it.

During much of chocolate's early development and usage, Chocolate Pots were the primary tool for melting and preparing a chocolate drink. By 1767, chocolate pots were still very much upper-class as can be seen in a common chocolate pot made from silver. The accessibility of cacao and chocolate had yet to reach working class individuals. Moving into the late 1700’s and early 1800’s the recipes for chocolate were much more accessible to lower class individuals. Still a difficult chore to make as mass production had not quite found it’s way to chocolate yet, at least at this point in history it mattered less and less how wealthy an individual was. The people were eating chocolate! By the late 1700’s chocolate was finally being mass produced, following the invention of the hydraulic press machines which could grind the cacao seeds into paste (Burch, 6)

By 1790, chocolate was being made in mass quantities, making access to the treat much more attainable for all individuals. This can be seen in the above image which show the difference from the materials used in the previous chocolate pot. Switching from a higher quality, more expensive material like silver, to an easier accessed material like bronze. Highlighting the differences between modern day chocolate and the process which it took in the late 1700s, colonial Williamsburg hosts an event called “Hands-on with American Heritage Chocolate” in Colonial Williamsburg’s Taste Studio (Sampson, 1). Visitors are able to experience the challenges of making chocolate in the 1700s, highlighting key differences such as women not being able to taste the chocolate even though they were the ones expected to prepare the treat for guests (Sampson, 2).

Moving into the 1800s, chocolate experienced quite a journey both physically from being removed from it’s native lands by colonists over the beginning of the century as well as through public perception with ingredients and recipes being more readily available and easily accessible to all class of peoples and through mass production in the later half of the century.

Here we have come to the late 1800's to the 1950's where chocolate is starting to take off as a massive buisness as many different companies begin to produce their own versions of the treat. Companies like Cadbury begin in England and others like Sherry have their origins later in the 1900's in America.

1800 was the golden age for chocolate creation, distribution, and business. Many companies had started to experiment with cocoa to see what new creations they could come up with. These business practices would cement their company's success, many of today’s popular chocolate companies managed to adapt and evolve their business.  As time went on, 1900 rolled around with a new horizon. This new age would bring in new ideas, evolving the business even further. Many of the chocolate foods we enjoy- hot chocolate, milk chocolate- came from places of ingenuity and creativity.

In 1824, John Cadbury opened a shop where he would sell drinks such as tea and coffee and chocolate nibs, that were prepared by himself. He managed to expand his business in the year 1831 and opened his first factory. He would then later pass on the business to his two sons, George and Richard, in the early years of the 1860s. It was difficult to be inventive with the then current stream of cocoa beans, which were supplied by Britain’s leading cocoa firm, J.S. Fry & Sons. George Cadbury noticed the new success in the batch of cocoa beans that Coenraad Johannes van Houten produced in Holland. George took inspiration from this, and this resulted in cocoa essence. With this, Cadbury was able to present to the public that this new cocoa essence was the best, and unlike flour and tapioca, it did not contain fillers. Cadbury was the first to brand chocolates and romance together.

Milton Hershey introduced the plain milk chocolate bar in 1900. He introduced evaporated milk into his product, except this milk was slightly soured. This led to the widely popular chocolate with an off aftertaste, a method used to this day. Almonds were added to chocolate in 1908, which were less expensive the milk chocolate bars. As time went on, the widely known Hershey Kisses would be created in 1907. Hershey had a more aggressive business approach, which would include selling their chocolates in gas stations, diners and markets. Typically, chocolates were sold in confectionary shops and druggists.

Branding and company slogans were an important form of marketing for chocolate companies. Nestle, for example, used their slogan “Good Food, Good Life” to promote their healthy raw ingredients. However, Nestle was a company that sold their products for more value than the original ingredients were. With Cadbury, the public was able to keep them in their minds thanks to their health-based approach. Henri Nestle, the company founder, was originally a chemist who was known for his creation of baby feeding formula.

Chocolate wasn’t seen as an expensive treat until later in 1900. There were a few that sold chocolate as a luxury sweet, like Louis Sherry. He introduced the first luxury chocolates to the United States, his name being associated to New York’s Sherry- Netherland Hotel. He would pass away in 1926 before it was opened. Sherry sold expensive chocolate confections, quoted to be the highest quality, to wealthy customers from 1881 to 1919. These chocolate candies were packed in signature ribbon tied boxes. The key to luxury chocolate was to have high quality beans, pure vanilla and cocoa butter as fat.

Finally, we come to the last portion of our journey with the time period of the 1950's to the Present. Here you can find out about the different kinds and types of chocolate which are still produced today! You will also find that chocolate was finally being marketed and given to children as a treat, instead of it being just for adults!

Drinking chocolate began to compete with eating chocolate as the nineteenth century advanced. Chocolate industry advancements resulted in the introduction of a diverse range of items to the market, including slabs of chocolate, pralines, chocolate bars, and spreads, all in an unlimited number of varieties. At the same time, costs began to fall, and chocolate became more widely available. Children began to consume this substance, which had previously been reserved only for adults.

Atomic Fireballs were not the only cinnamon candy that was causing a stir. In 1950, the Just Born launched the spicy chews. In the 1950s, many candy bars cost under 5 cents for a whole bar of chocolate. Some, on the other hand, were double that. If you were feeling flush, you could splurge on a Mounds or an Almond Joy candy bar for ten cents. This part of Life in the 50's is about another delectable feature of the 1950's: candy bars! It's just in time for Halloween!

Candy bars, on the other hand, had made a complete reappearance on store shelves throughout the world by the 1950s! Snickers, Milky Way, Mounds, Butterfinger, and Baby Ruth are among the candy bars that were popular in the 1950s and are still available today. Butterfinger and Baby Ruth are currently made by Nestle, however they were formerly made by a company called Curtiss, as depicted in the advertising below. Chocolate candy of the 1950s and 1960s was more than simply sweets; it was a symbol of something far larger. It was a part of everyone's daily existence. From marketing commercials, which everyone liked, consumed, and enjoyed socially, to economic supply and demand, which brought all types of chocolate to the customer. America was simply addicted to chocolate. Nestlé SA and Kraft Foods are both food corporations with products Nestlé purchased Rowntree's in 1988 and currently offers chocolates under their name, including Smarties (a chocolate candy) and Kit Kat (a chocolate bar); Kraft Foods owns Milka and Suchard after acquiring Jacobs Sucher in 1990. Kraft also purchased Cadbury in the United Kingdom in February 2010.

Chocolatiers disagree on whether white chocolate is truly chocolate. Because it does not include chocolate liquor, the US Food and Drug Administration classified it as a confectionery rather than chocolate until 2002. The Hershey Food Corporation and the Chocolate Manufacturers Association petitioned the FDA, which created a white chocolate standard of identification. Because the FDA refers to it as white chocolate rather than confectionery, some experts, such as Williams, consider it to be chocolate. While most studies have identified a link between chocolate intake and a lower risk of heart disease, the amount and kind of chocolate required warrants more research. Drinking chocolate and milkshakes is still a popular breakfast and snack option for youngsters and teens. Powdered chocolate first debuted in the twentieth century. This milk-dissolvable cocoa-sugar combination was supplemented with vitamins, minerals, barley flour, malt, and cereals on occasion. Banania, a chocolate, cereal, and banana flour blend, first introduced in France in 1912. Ovomaltine was developed by a Swiss pharmacist as a malt-based tonic for persons with weakened immune systems. Albert Wander, the inventor's son, transformed it into a more flavorful drink in 1906 by adding chocolate, eggs, and milk (nowadays the powder is made without eggs). It quickly became popular among both youngsters and adults. Sports stars became its ambassadors, pushing it through advertising campaigns in which it was lauded as delectable. Cocoa was also used in traditional dishes such as churros in Spain, a sort of fritter coated in very thick hot chocolate, and bickering, an old Turin recipe that is still popular today, prepared with a third of a cup of coffee, a third of hot chocolate, and a half of cream.

We have come to the end of our journey, below you can find an interactive map with some points from our voyage on it. You will have learned about the origins of the cocoa plant and how it relates to the ancient Mayan god El Chuah (Ek Chuaj), how chocolate became a staple in medicinal use, how it began to be produced for not just the elite but also the masses and lower classed people, the histories of some of the world's top chocolatier's, about the various companies and their own special recipes for the treat, and lastly how chocolate is available to almost everyone worldwide.

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25. Vase Painting: det.: Ek Chuah, god of merchants Classic period. Artstor, library-artstor-org.library.sheridanc.on.ca/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822001433