World Chocolate Day: Where does chocolate come from? Who invented it?

The history of chocolate is genuinely more curious and mouthwateringly tasty that you may imagine. It actually has it’s roots 4,000 years ago, which is around the time writing was invented. Probably to write letters to tell people about chocolate.

The delicious treat was invented in what we know today as Mexico, but we call it ancient Mesoamerica when talking about this period of time. The cacao plant forms what appears to be a huge, twenty-inch-long seed, where inside there is actually a sweet pulp inside, which is what the humans who found the plant probably consumed.

Cacao plants were found by one of the oldest civilisations in Latin America, the Olmec people, who drank a chocolate drink (the first ever hot chocolate). As well as a lovely drink (some historian even suggest it being a fermented, alcoholic one), it is said that they also used the plant, which is known as Theobroma cacao, for medicinal purposes, mixed with honey or vanilla. Chocolate is medicine, you heard it here, kids.

Chocolate makes the move to Europe

The Mayans, quite understandably, saw chocolate as the drink of the Gods, and gathered once a year to thank Ed Chuah, the cacao God. It was used by the Maya as medicine and for religious purposes and even as currency, with cacao beans being traded for other food items, such as turkeys and rabbits. When the Aztecs ruled, it was also used as currency, and they were also the first people to drink their chocolate drink cold, another fantastic invention and we thank them for it.

While the origins of chocolate crossing the Atlantic into Europe are unknown, it is thought that it first arrived in Spain in the 16th century and was originally kept as a secret, so tasty was the food, and was hidden away for only the richest of society. The delicious beans were eventually shown to France and the rest of Europe quickly caught on, where it remained a delicacy for those with enough money and power to come across it. It was in Europe where the real hot chocolate was born, after sugar and cinnamon were added to the bitter mixture.

When was the chocolate bar invented?

Once the secret was out, everyone could get their hands on chocolate, which became mass produced in the 1700s, just in time for the Industrial Revolution. By the 19th century, various chocolate companies had popped up, such as Nestlé and Cadbury’s, who took advantage of the new machinery to turn the bitter drink into a more creamy, edible foodstuff: the chocolate bar was born. It was Nestlé who introduced the idea of adding condensed milk into the paste to create milk chocolate.

Nowadays, the majority of chocolate production, around two thirds, comes from West Africa. Most of the money involved comes from the USA, where it is said that the chocolate business is worth up to $127.9 billion USD, with the average American eating 3 chocolate bars per week. Annually, global chocolate consumption in 2022 was roughly 7.5 million tons.