Chocolate is truly one of life's most delicious pleasures. Its rich flavour and exquisite creamy texture hold an almost universal appeal to people of all ages. No-one, it seems, can resist the temptation; from the simplest of childhood's confections to the sophisticated cuisine of gourmets chocolate has become an indulgence the world over.

Chocolate was first introduced to the Western World just over 400 years ago when Spanish explorers brought the cocoa bean home from their expeditions to Mexico and South America. Known only as a drink in those times, it has only been available as an edible block of chocolate for the past 140 years.

As early as 600AD, the Central American maya tribe migrated deep into South America's northern region and established the first cocoa plantations in Yucatan. The fruit of the cocoa tree played an important part in ceremonial rituals and cocoa beans were offered to gods during puberty rites, marriages and funerals. Each year a prisoner was sacrificed to ensure a good harvest from the cocoa tree. This unfortunate victim was served a cup of chocolate which supposedly turned his heart into a cocoa bean; the heart was then ripped out and offered to the gods. Before the sowing of the crop, the tillers of the soil slept apart from their women for 13 nights so that the night before planting they could fully indulge their passions. As the first cocoa seed was placed in the soil a chosen few were appointed to sexually perform at the same time! Perhaps this ritual has some bearing on the fact that chocolate was considered an aphrodisiac for many years:

"Twill make Old women Young and Fresh;

Create New Motions of the Flesh,

And cause them long for you know what,

If they but taste of chocolate".

James Wadsworth (1660)

The cocoa bean was also used as currency in Central America. Ransoms were paid and purchases made in cocoa beans (a pumpkin cost 4 cocoa beans, a rabbit 8, a good slave 100 - but a prostitute was worth just 10 cocoa beans!).

When Christopher Columbus landed in Nicaragua on 30th July 1502, on his fourth voyage to America, he became the first European to encounter chocolate. He chose to ignore the heavily spiced bitter drink (you can understand why when you read this recipe of 1648):

cocoa beans

cinnamon

red peppers

aniseed

all dried and powdered being careful not to overdry of they will become bitter:

stirred together until a paste is formed warmed over a fire.

Then add achiotte (a red colouring agent) then made into tablets to become cold and harden.

Dissolve the tablets in hot water and add to atolle (a cornmeal gruel drink) and stir until it is frothed". This unpalatable concoction was so thick that a spoon could stand up in it! 

Another Spaniard, Hernando Cortes, whilst conquering part of Mexico in 1519, was most impressed by this humble bean. Lured by visions of "wealth", he immediately established plantations to grow "money" in the form of the cocoa bean. When Cortes had first landed he was received with great reverence by the magnificent Aztec Emperor Montezuma. According to Aztec mythology, the feathered serpent god of light, Quetzalcoatl, came to earth as a fair-skinned man with a white flowing beard. He bestowed upon his worshippers the cocoa bean and taught them how to make the divine chocolate drink. The human trait of growing old horrified this glorious god, so he returned to heaven and took the cocoa tree with him, promising to return to earth again. The Spanish conquistador's white skin and beard fulfilled the legend of the return of Quetzalcoatl and the local people truly believed he was the reincarnated god. Perhaps some deference was given to Quetzalcoatl when the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus named the coca tree in 1775. He called it "Theobroma" which, when translated from Greek, means "food of the gods".

So, it was at the opulent court of Montezuma that the Spaniards were introduced to the royal drink "Xocoatl". They were dazzled by the splendour and mystique of Montezuma and they basked in the glory of being the retinue of a "God" returned to earth. However, within a year, Cortes had repaid this hospitality by imprisoning his gracious host and declaring the country a colony of Spain. The conquistadors returned home in 1528 and introduced the cocoa bean and its preparation as a drink to the Spanish court. The Spanish added vanilla and sugar to the bitter Mexican recipe and the drink quickly became very fashionable amongst high society.

In 1569 Pope Pius V was served a cup of chocolate and found it so disgusting that he could not imagine anyone wanting to drink it. He therefore declared it permissible to drink through the Lenten feast. Fashionable women of the day could not last through Mass without a cup of chocolate, and it was a common sight to see legions of maids serving chocolate to their mistresses, thereby interrupting the Mass. The Bishop of Chiapa (Mexico tried to ban this practice, but soon after met an untimely death... some "gentlewoman" poisoned his own morning cup of chocolate!).

Until this time, chocolate had not really been accepted in countries other than Spain, but all this changed in 1606 when an Italian, Antonio Carletti, visited Spain and returned to Italy with their royal recipe for chocolate. It was an immediate success and a few years later the coffee houses of Venice and Florence were famous throughout Europe for their chocolate drink, although its popularity was still only enjoyed by the wealthy.

Around this time the penchant for chocolate was to reach new heights when Anne of Austria, a Hapsburg-Spanish princess who married Louis XIII of France in 1615, introduced many Spanish customs to the sophisticated French court - including drinking chocolate. One of her wedding gifts for her betrothed was an ornate casket of chocolate and she brought her own special maid, La Molina, to prepare her chocolate. History repeated itself in 1660 when their son Louis XIV, the Sun King, married another Spanish princess, Marie-Theresa, who also presented her bridegroom with a casket of chocolate.

The French literally worshipped this new drink, extolling its virtues and attributing it with amazing properties. By the time Louis XV ascended the throne in 1723, it was an institution of the court, and his mistresses, Madame Du Barry and Madame de Pompadour, carried on the royal chocolate connection. It was said of Madame Du Barry that she plied her lovers with chocolate to whip up their ardour in gratifying her lust. The opposite was said of Madame de Pompadour who was frigid - "to warm a temperament that was by nature cool, to stir a sensuality that was at best sluggish, she had recourse to curious aphrodisiacs and diets. At breakfast she drank truffle and celery soup washed down by hot chocolate". The last queen of France, Marie Antoinette, had a personal chocolatier from Vienna who concocted such delicacies as chocolate mixed with powdered orchid bulbs to charmingly plump out the figure, orange blossoms to soothe frayed nerves, or milk of almonds to support a delicate stomach.

Whilst the courts of France ensured its success, across the Channel, an enterprising Frenchman opened the first chocolate shop in Bishopsgate Street, London in 1657. At the same time famous London coffee houses began serving Spanish-style cakes and rolls containing chocolate to their learned and wealthy clientele. Chocolate increased in popularity not only as a drink, but also as a flavouring for other foods. New chocolate houses sprang up all over London, the most famous being White's and The Cocoa Tree, and the beneficial qualities reached their zenith.

In 1662 the renowned English physician Henry Stubbe advocated that one ounce of chocolate contained more fat and nourishment than a pound of meat and he wrote medical prescriptions made from chocolate. He also wrote that chocolate "becomes provocative to lust upon no other account than that it begets good blood". Coincidentally, a French medical student wrote a thesis "On the Healthful Uses of Chocolate". Samuel Pepys often mentioned his morning draft of chocolate in his famous diaries. During this time, Sir Hans Sloane (of Sloane Square) discovered that chocolate tasted better when made with milk instead of water. He kept his discovery a trade secret for some time before selling the recipe to a London apothecary and much later it became the property of the Cadbury brothers.

Interestingly enough, it was the English Quakers who played a prominent part in the development of chocolate. Their zeal for temperance had previously led them into the production of beer which was classed as a temperance drink compared with gin and other spirits. Early in the 19th century they began distributing tea, coffee and cocoa and were soon involved in the manufacture of chocolate. Some of the most famous Quaker names in chocolate making include Cadbury, Fry, Rowntree and Terry's. The first factory for processing the cocoa bean had been operated by another Quaker, Walter Churchman, since 1728, and was bought in 1761 by Joseph Fry.

In 1824 John Cadbury, aged 23, produced "Cocoa Nibs" as a breakfast beverage in his tea and coffee business in Birmingham. It was so successful that he rented a small factory in 1831 to produce his own cocoa. His brother Benjamin joined him later and from this simple beginning the Cadbury chocolate empire was born.

The 19th century heralded the perfection of the chocolate manufacturing process. Switzerland had first learned about chocolate in 1697 when the Mayor of Zurich, Heinrich Escher, drank chocolate while on a visit to Brussels and returned home expounding its virtues. But it was over a century later that Francois-Louis Cailler built the first Swiss chocolate factory in a picturesque lakeside setting near Vevey in 1819. He had learned the secrets of chocolate-making in Italy, then returned home to perfect his own product.

Seven years later, Phillipe Suchard opened a confectioner's shop on Neuchatel, Switzerland. He was first introduced to chocolate when he was asked to collect a pound of the miracle substance from an apothecary for his ailing mother. In 1893 his was the first trademark to be registered with the International patents Office.

Despite the progress made over the years, chocolate was still a heavy drink and additives were necessary to counteract the fattiness and make it more palatable. Some of these were flour, cornmeal, potato starch, powdered seashells, oatmeal, arrowroot or even dried moss or lichen. The colour of the chocolate was "enhanced" with red pigment - usually iron rust or brick dust! But in 1828, a Dutchman, Coenraad van Houten, perfected a method to extract two thirds of the fat content, leaving a dry powdery cake that we now call cocoa powder. This was the major breakthrough which opened the way for the invention of eating chocolate.

Twenty years later, in 1847, the firm of Joseph Fry & Sons combined the extracted cocoa butter with the chocolate paste, added sugar and produced the first eating chocolate. This new product was an instant success even though it was grainy and rather harsh-flavoured. By 1849 the Cadbury brothers were also selling eating chocolate in their Birmingham shop, but it wasn't until 1905 that the famous Dairy Milk chocolate was produced.

The Swiss had already begun to make their presence felt in the area of chocolate manufacturing; they now stepped in to completely take over the history of chocolate as we know it today. After eight years of experimentation, Daniel Peter produced the first form of milk chocolate in 1875; he had successfully added condensed milk (perfected by his compatriot Henri Nestle) to the bitter dark chocolate. At the time he was courting Francois-Louis Cailler's daughter, Fanny, and he literally fell in love with chocolate.
The most important discovery however, was in 1880, when an eccentric bachelor, Rudolph Lindt, produced the first chocolate to literally melt in the mouth. He found that if he left a batch of chocolate mixing for several days it became much smoother in texture (the now famous process of "conching" the chocolate) and that adding more cocoa butter gave the exquisite melting sensation we adore today. In 1889 Chocolat Springli of Zurich took over Lindt's factory. Such was Lindt's reputation as a producer that a large sum (1,500,000 gold francs) was paid for his trademarks and recipes and unlike most other chocolate manufacturers, Lindt-Sprungli A.G. is still family owned.

In the same year a former confectionery trader, Jean Tobler and his sons, founded the Tobler factory in Berne. (Tobler had opened a "Confiserie speciale" in 1868 using chocolate from various manufacturers and found it so successful that he decided to manufacture chocolate himself). His son, Theodore and his cousin Emil Baumann created the world's most famous chocolate bar "Toblerone" in 1908. The name was devised from their own and "Torrone", an Italian nougat made of honey and almonds. The distinctive shape of the bar is said to be in honour of the Swiss Alps that were visible from the windows of their factory.

A little later, Swiss Jules Sechaud produced the first filled chocolate in his father's factory at Montreux. He set the wheels in motion for the development of the liqueur-filled chocolate, thus establishing an unprecedented market for exclusive and delectable handmade chocolates.

It was around this time that the Italians featured once again in the history of chocolate. In 1907 the Buitoni family established the Perugina Chocolate factory in Perugia. Among their range of exceptional chocolates are the legendary "Baci" (kisses). Supposedly, Giovanni Buitoni was having a love affair with an older woman during the 1930's and they exchanged messages of endearment hidden in handmade chocolates. Today these messages are translated into four languages and are still wrapped around each Baci.

So by early 20th century eating chocolate was fully born. Many famous chocolate brands such as Fry, Cadbury, Suchard, Lindt, Cailler, Nestle and Tobler bear the names of chocolate pioneers whose technical genius, inventive skills and devotion have produced the superior chocolate of today.

From its first hesitant introduction to the courts of Spain 400 years ago, through its acceptance by the wealthy and noble courtiers of the rest of Europe, chocolate has grown from its humble beginnings in one-room shops and old mills to become a multi-national billion dollar business. Notwithstanding the influence of modern technology on the efficient production of chocolates today, little change has been made to the delicate recipes perfected just over 100 years ago.

We can still enjoy the fruits of such happy marriages as Lindt / Sprungli, Cailler / Nestle, Suchard / Tobler and Cadbury / Fry who have all maintained the individuality of their products through closely guarding their secret recipes. Our gratitude knows no bounds!