It’s safe to say at every girl loves chocolate. The sweet little treat is a cure for everything: happiness, sadness, heartbreak, and most importantly, love. As Valentine’s Day approaches, we could all indulge in a little chocolate history. Here are some quick facts.
– The cacao tree was first discovered in the tropical rainforests of South America over 2,000 years ago
– It was so valuable that for several centuries cacao beans were used as currency in Latin America
– Mayans and Aztecs alike believed that the bean had magical and divine properties and was often used in sacred rituals such as birth, marriage, and death
– Cacao seeds were often mixed with seasonings to create a spicy, frothy drink in Latin America
– Sweetened chocolate was nonexistent until the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortes experimented with the Aztec drink and combined it with honey and cane sugar.
– In the 17th century, chocolate was a privilege of the rich and was believed to have aphrodisiac properties
– Chocolate was very valuable in America during the Revolutionary War to the extent that it was used as wages for soldiers and often included in rations
– In 1853, chocolate started to reach a greater number of people due to the Industrial Revolution. A number of manufacturers entered the boxed chocolate business including Cadbury (now known as Nestlé), Lindt, Hershey, and Ghirardelli.
– Chocolate is still prominent in the economy and is a 4billion dollar industry in the US with the average American consuming at least a half a pound per month!
Now that you know a little morsel of the history of cacao, enjoy every delicious bite of chocolate and think of how the bean has come such a long way since the spicy beverage of the Mayans and Aztecs to the pink hearts for Valentine’s Day.
Sources:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/brief-history-of-chocolate.html
http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/history.html
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/exploring_chocolate/
Picture:
http://stuffpoint.com/chocolate/image/172824-chocolate-heart-of-chocolate.jpg