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Chocolate, a vice for some, a special treat for others. Described by Swedish botanist, Carolus Linnaeus as the "food of the Gods" (Linneaus gave the cacao tree its formal botanical name 'Theobroma Cacao'), chocolate has travelled across the world in many forms since the 16th Century. A short history is summarised -
- In 1502 Columbus returned to Spain from the Americas with the cocoa bean. Unfortunately Ferdinand of Spain was unimpressed (and Columbus had been something of a nuisance to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain in any case so there was even less interest)
- Years later in 1517 Conquistador Hernan Cortes and his expedition come into contact with the cocoa bean with the Aztecs and their Emperor, Montezuma. Cortes establishes cocoa bean crops in Spanish territories in Africa and the West Indies with the bean arriving in Austria and Italy.
- Anne of Austria and Louis XIII of France are married in 1615 and Anne brings her love of chocolate to France.
- Chocolate drinking is promoted in London through public advertisements in 1657 with special Chocolate Houses becoming preferred places instead of the then popular Tea Houses. Chocolate continues to gain popularity throughout Europe.
- In England, Dr Joseph Fry establishes the first large-scale manufacturing enterprise using steam engines that grind beans in 1795. The Industrial Revolution enables larger production volumes to be achieved.
- C J Van Houten in Amsterdam in 1828 discovers how to extract cocoa butter from the cocoa bean producing a smooth dry powder. He also invents a machine which chemically adjusts the natural acid of the bean through alkalines.
- The 1870s see Daniel Peter of Nestle creating milk chocolate bu adding condensed milk into the production process. Randolph Lindt develops a process of heating chocolate dough and then using rolling through the chocolate creating a liquid form still in use today.
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