Victoria Tullo October 1, 2014 MIST Magazine History of Chocolate Feature
Beyond the Wrapper: A Chocolate Tale
The Mayans might have been a bit off in their prediction of the end of the world, but they were spot on with a savory sweet treat we all enjoy. Without the
Mayans, we would not be able to break off a piece of our favorite Kit Kat bar, or share the ‘happiness’ of Hershey’s. The story of a worldwide favorite began in Pre-
Columbian Mexico with a drink used in Mayan ceremonies. This ceremonial drink was made by roasting and pounding seeds of the cacao tree, and was later adopted by the Aztecs. Amanda Bensen of Smithsonian Magazine discusses in her 2008 article, “A Brief History of Chocolate,” that “Etymologists trace the origin of the word
“chocolate” to the Aztec word “xocoatl,” which referred to a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans.” It appears that cacao beans are actually quite bitter, as many of us have experienced when tasting a chocolate bar consisting of mainly pure cacao.
However, the sweeter pulp of the beans proves to be the origin of the eclectic taste we know today.
While evidence shows that the domestication of the cacao plants dates as early as 1750 BC by the pre-Olmec people of Mesoamerica, both the Mayans and
Aztecs left writings about cacao that historians have been able to study more closely. In Aztec history, our beloved chocolate served as more than just a decadent treat. Cacao beans became a bargaining chip, and even a form of currency. Bensen notes that, “One bean could be traded for a tamale, while 100 beans could purchase a good turkey hen, according to a 16th-century Aztec document.” Chocoholics everywhere may get a kick out of the fact that the Aztecs actually associated the cacao beans with their god Quetzacoatl. Stories hold that the Aztecs believed that
Quetzacoatl had been scrutinized or condemned by the other gods for sharing chocolate with humans.
Cacao beans and chocolate were unknown to Europeans up until the 16th century when Christopher Columbus and Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes each made their respective trips to the Americas. Within a century of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, chocolate had taken root as mouth-watering phenomenon in
Europe. Later on in 1815, the Dutch chemist Coenraad Van Houten experimented with chocolate, introducing alkaline salts into the mix. The alkaline salts were used to reduce the bitterness and potent edge of the cacao beans. In 1828, Coenraad’s father, Casparus van Houten, devised and patented a method for pressing the fat from roasted cacao beans. This birthed, “dutch cocoa,” a machine-pressed cocoa which revolutionized chocolate into the modern present form.
Origins of our most cherished delectable brands became known in the late
19th-century when the Cadbury’s, Henri Nestle, Rodolphe Lindt, and Milton S.
Hershey dove into the chocolate mix. Cadbury’s beginnings date back to 1868, when the company first began boxing chocolates in England. In 1875, Swiss chocolatier
Daniel Peter invented milk chocolate by mixing liquor and powdered milk developed by Swiss confectioner Henri Nestle. Then, in 1879, another Swiss chocolatier named Rodolphe Lindt invented the conching machine in Berne,
Switzerland. Using frictional heat, the conching machine assisted in the chocolate production process by evenly distributing cocoa butter within chocolate. Last but certainly not least, Milton S. Hershey of the Lancaster Caramel Company purchased chocolate-making equipment at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
Who would have thought that all of these sugar coated beginnings originated from just one cacao bean? For firsthand research, you can head to your nearest convenience store and unwrap the rest of the sweet history of your favorite candy bars.