Chocolate as we know it today has come along way since it was first discovered over 2000 years ago. Throughout history, it has been used as a drink, a gift to the gods, a currency, a medicine, an exclusive drink only available to royalty and nobles and now, finally it has become the very popular, affordable luxury it is today, still retaining it's charm and intrigue.

The first evidence of the consumption of cocoa dates back to 2000BC and was discovered in the tiny village of Uloa in Honduras.

In 500-900AD the Mayans placed offerings of cocoa in the tombs of deceased dignitaries as a gift, the Mayans also worshipped Ek Chuah, god of cocoa, and made offerings to him of fruit feathers and animals when it was time to plant and harvest their cocoa crops.

Cocoa beans were used as currency in Mayan, Toltec and Aztec society and when Hernan Cortez and the Spanish conquistadors came to Mexico in 1519 they too used cocoa beans to buy slaves and food & drink. At this time, chocolate was consumed in the form of a drink known as Xocoatl, which was made by mixing the ground cocoa beans with herbs, spices and red pepper paste, dissolving the mixture in water and pouring it from one recipient to another until it foamed. The Aztecs believed that the foam made this drink delicious whereas the Spanish thought the drink was horrible and the rites and rituals surrounding cocoa were heretic.

The first sweetened version of this drink was introduced by Spanish monks in 1590, it was sweetened with honey and vanilla and formed the basis for today's chocolate.

By the end of the 17th Century, the chocolate drink had been introduced across Europe but was very expensive and was only consumed by royalty and the upper class. Owing to the Aztec belief that chocolate strengthened the body and was sensually stimulating, it was also widely used as a medicine for various ailments and diseases from the common cold to depression.

Between 1700 and 1900, chocolate was used less as a medicine and more emphasis was placed on its delicious flavour. In the 1800s, the Belgians led the way in inventing new methods of processing the cocoa and much progress was made towards modern chocolate. In Britain the Fry family claim to have created the first chocolate bar in 1846, in Italy chocolate was mixed with hazelnut paste to create Gianduja, and the first milk chocolate was created in Switzerland in 1875 after Henry Nestlé found a way to evaporate the liquid from milk to create milk powder. By 1894, there were laws in place in many European countries to protect chocolate and a product could only legally be labelled chocolate if it contained at least 32% cocoa solids (35% in Belgium). In the 20th Century the price of cocoa and sugar fell, and the government abolished taxes on cocoa which made chocolate much more affordable so it became popular with the middle classes.

Today chocolate is affordable for everybody and people are becoming more aware of the different qualities of chocolate available. BitterSweet chocolates use high quality couverture chocolate for their truffles, this is a much higher quality of chocolate than that found in many chocolates on the high street.

An original cacao fruit press

Cacao fruit, pods and beans