Objects(S): Teaching Aids – Rowntree's Cocoa Researcher
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Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk Objects(s): Teaching Aids – Rowntree’s Cocoa Object Number(s): STMEA:1997-6.1(a-i) Researcher details: Richard Hall, Volunteer Teaching Aids – Rowntree’s Cocoa You might be forgiven for dreaming of a tasty treat with this item in our collection. It is a jar of fermented Cocoa beans (Figure 1), from which Rowntree’s might have made one of their chocolate bars. Figure 1: Jar of Raw Cocoa Beans. Museum of East Anglian Life.1 This item comes from a set of teaching aids (Figure 2) for the classroom, produced by the Rowntree company during the 1950s. Figure 2: Rowntree’s Cocoa Teaching Aids Set. Museum of East Anglian Life.2 1 Jar of Raw Cocoa Beans. (STMEA:1997-6.1e). Museum of East Anglian Life. (CC-BY-NC). 2 Rowntree’s Cocoa Teaching Aids Set. (STMEA:1997-6.1(a-i)). Museum of East Anglian Life. (CC-BY-NC). Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk The whole set contained sample jars of Raw Cocoa Beans, Cocoa Shell, Cocoa Nibs, Roasted Cocoa Beans, Elec Cocoa and Cocoa Butter as well as a half and a quarter pound packs of finished Cocoa. The Rowntree’s teaching pack tells us something about the Rowntree’s company who, alongside their significant marketing efforts were keen for young people to learn about where their products came from and how they were made. More of which later. The Rowntree’s Company Rowntree’s was founded in York in 1862 by Henry Isaac Rowntree3, when he bought the business from the Tuke family. Henry had worked as a manager in the business for some time. Both Henry Rowntree and the Tuke family were well known members of the Quaker community in the city. By 1869, Henry had formed a partnership with his brother Joseph, formally establishing H.I. Rowntree and company. The renowned Rowntree’s ‘Fruit Pastille’ was introduced to their range in 1881 and was so popular it had risen to account for 25% of the company’s tonnage output in just six years. This success meant that the company could acquire its first van Houten press and better compete with the likes of J.S. Fry and Cadbury. The van Houten Press was invented in 1828 by Casparus van Houten Senior4, was a significant step forward in the mass production of chocolate and cocoa. It provided a cheap way to press the natural fat from roasted cocoa beans, reducing the fat content by nearly a half, and formed a cake which could then be ground into cocoa powder. This, when mixed with sugar and a little of the natural fat, became much more like the chocolate we all buy today. The 1890s saw the company expand their operations, acquiring a 20-acre site on the outskirts of York to feed an ever-growing demand for their products. Around 1898, the company became Rowntree and Co Ltd and bought its first cocoa plantation in the West Indies. The British taste for chocolate continued to grow into the 1900s, although people preferred sweeter milk chocolate. Rowntree’s, however, were slow to adapt to changing tastes and lost market share to Cadbury and Fry, their major competitors. Rowntree’s problems continued and by 1935, Rowntree finally abandoned its attempts at competing with Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, instead they produced an aerated milk chocolate bar, known as the “Aero”. This was followed quickly by the “Kit- Kat” and later the “Dairy Box” selection on chocolates in a box was added to the range, capitalising on the success of the “Black Magic” box which they had launched in 1934. Successful lines followed including familiar favourites; “Smarties” and “Polo” mints. By the second half of the 20th century, other successful lines were introduced including “Yorkie” and “Lion” chocolate. Rowntree’s bought several smaller businesses, including the Caley chocolate factory in 3 Rowntree's [Internet]. En.wikipedia.org. 2021 [cited 15 March 2021]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowntree%27s#:~:text=In%201862%2C%20Rowntree's%20was%20founded,was %20staffed%20by%2012%20men. 4 2. Coenraad Johannes van Houten [Internet]. En.wikipedia.org. 2021 [cited 15 March 2021]. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coenraad_Johannes_van_Houten Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk Norwich5. However, the world of business is never static, and Rowntree’s were themselves subject to a hostile takeover by Swiss company Nestlé in 1988. Thereafter a dramatic reduction in the workforce ensued and several other former Rowntree plants, including Norwich, were closed. Today, the company still produces confectionery at its York plant, one of the largest in the world and which also hosts Nestlé’s, global research centre. Social Reformers Like many Victorian and Edwardian entrepreneurs, Joseph Rowntree, and his brother Seebohm, no doubt influenced by their Quaker heritage, often blurred the lines between business, philanthropy, and politics.6 The Rowntree’s saw the ills of poverty at first hand, authoring a report “Poverty: a study of town life (1901)”7, which found that over 27% of the York population lived in what was described as “primary or secondary poverty” and determined to do something about it. They set about building decent, affordable housing for the poor of York and ensured decent working conditions for his employees, including company medical and dental facilities, eight hour working days and a company pension fund. To help with workers education and recreation Rowntree also provided a library, a canteen, and sports facilities. For employees and managers alike, they built the first 28 homes in a newly created ‘Garden Village’ known as New Earswick near York8, in 1902. By 1904, Joseph had established a Trust (The Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust) to continue the building programme and manage the village. The trust together with ‘The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’, which campaigns for social justice, both remain active today. Cocoa and Chocolate Kim9 tells us that chocolate originated 4,000 years ago in present day Mexico, where the first Cacao plants were found. The Olmec an early civilization drank chocolate during their rituals and used it as medicine. The Mayan’s later praised chocolate as the “drink of the gods”, making their brew as a mixture of ground cacao seeds and chillies, mixed with water and cornmeal. The resulting concoction was a thick foamy drink they called “xocolatl” or bitter water. 5 Norman Cobb Productions. Come with me to Norwich [Internet]. 1952 [cited 16 March 2021]. Available from: http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/637 6 Meet The Philanthropists: sweet charity - how Cadbury, Rowntree and Fry gave us some of our… [Internet]. Medium. 2021 [cited 16 March 2021]. Available from: https://medium.com/@cafonline/meet-the- philanthropists-sweet-charity-how-cadbury-rowntree-and-fry-gave-us-some-of-our-d8e84f6f9fcc 7 Matthew H. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain. 8th ed. [Page 516]. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1987. 8 Design S. New Earswick: History of York [Internet]. Historyofyork.org.uk. 2021 [cited 16 March 2021]. Available from: http://www.historyofyork.org.uk/themes/the-expanding-city/new-earswick 9 Kim J. A brief history of chocolate [Internet]. Chocolate. 2019 [cited 16 March 2021]. Available from: https://www.chocolate.org/blogs/chocolate-blog/a-brief-history-of- chocolate#:~:text=Chocolate's%204%2C000%2Dyear%20history%20began,and%20used%20it%20as%20medici ne. Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk Cocoa beans were so valued by the South Americans that by the 5th century the Aztec population were using them as currency. They also praised chocolate for its so-called “aphrodisiac” properties. Legend has it that chocolate was brought to Europe by Spanish explorer, Hernan Cortes in 1528 following an expedition to the America’s. At that time, chocolate was still served as a drink, often mixed with sugar, honey or vanilla to sweeten its bitter taste. Fiegl10 takes up the story… Chocolate became a fashionable drink throughout Europe in the 17th century again noted for its nutritious medicinal and even aphrodisiac properties – apparently Casanova was a fan! However, it remained a drink for the rich until mass production became possible with the invention of the steam engine, making the grinding process less labour intensive. The 19th century saw great advances with the introduction of the van Houten press (see earlier) and by 1847, Joseph Fry had created the world’s first chocolate bar. How is chocolate made?11 Our bar of chocolate begins with cocoa beans, harvested from trees in very humid climates, the beans are extracted from cocoa pods (Figure 3). Figure 3: A cacao tree with fruit pods in various stages of ripening. By Medicaster12 10 Fiegl A. A brief history of chocolate [Internet]. Smithsonian Magazine. 2008 [cited 16 March 2021]. Available from: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/a-brief-history-of-chocolate-21860917/ 11 Discovery UK. The whole process of making chocolate - how do they do it? [Internet]. 2018 [cited 16 March 2021]. Available from: https://youtu.be/P_JuQCiKWUc 12 Medicaster. A cacao tree with fruit pods in various stages of ripening [Internet]. 2006 [cited 16 March 2021]. Available from: By Photo by Medicaster. - en:Image:Cocoa Pods.JPG, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2973927 Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 1DL Tel: 01449 612229 www.eastanglianlife.org.uk The beans are left to ferment for a few days then dried and roasted before having their shells removed to leave only the cocoa nibs which are then ground into cocoa mass, which is a rough form of chocolate. It is then liquified by heating and then cooled and pressed into its two components coca solid and cocoa butter (fat).