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Let's Go2Vallarta - Articles Chocolate
In the 7th century A.D. it was brought to Mexico by the Mayans who baptized it in their nahuatl language, “cacahuate". In Mexico it had been cultivated for more than 3.000 years by the Olmecs, Toltecs and Aztecs. The Aztecs prepared the famous "xoxoatl", from which the word chocolate is derived and which originally meant cacao water or bitter water with dried, grinded and probably fermented grains of cacao. Chocolate is an Aztec word that appeared slightly deformed in all living languages. In Aztec Mexico cocoa was the favorite drink of the emperors who were considered gods. Other versions mention that the first European who sampled chocolate was Hernan Cortes invited by Montezuma who offered the drink in a golden cup. Chocolate was so expensive that it could hardly be the habitual drink of the poor farmers. In Mexico it served as money instead of coins, which were never used by the Aztecs. Cacao pods were packed in bulks of 24,000 pieces which constituted the standard measure of currency used by the Aztecs and Mayans to pay taxes. The history of chocolate in Europe emerges with the samples that Hernan Cortes decided to take with him to the Spain of King Charles I in 1528. Cortes upon sampling the mixture prepared by the Aztecs described it in the following manner: "drinking it allows you to travel the whole day without getting tired and without having to eat anything". Cortes’ attention was not only attracted by its nutritional value but also by the monetary value that the Aztecs gave it.
In 1606 the making of chocolate arrived in Italy through Antonio Carletti after his trip to the Spanish possessions in America, although other sources indicate that the person who introduced it was Manuel Filiberto de Saboya, a general of the Spanish army. Thanks to Carletti we have the first references concerning the making of chocolate by the natives: toasted cacao seeds, water and sugar. And most important the existence of small squares of solidified cacao which could be transported on trips as provision, and if necessary could be dissolved in water.
But without a doubt chocolate reached the apotheosis of its fame at the French Court where the Marquise of Sevignes, known for the rumors she spread, gossiped that another Marquise, the Marquise of Coetloglon, had drunk so much chocolate during her pregnancy that she gave birth to a black baby. In 1646 it arrived in Germany from Italy. For many years Germans considered it medicine and only sold it in drug stores and pharmacies. In 1657 it began to spread in England, where chocolate was offered for the first time in Europe in the form of small cakes (1674). 1746 was a more important date because a great innovation occurred at a chocolate fan club: water, which until then had been the only ingredient employed for mixing with cacao was replaced by milk to which eggs, alcohol and aged wine were sometimes added. Around 1660 all spices used in the making of chocolate were eliminated. In Spain a mixture with 28g chocolate, 57g sugar and a quarter of liter of water was prepared, which was heated and whisked until froth was produced. In France it was customary to substitute half of the water for milk. At the end of the 17th century the first chocolate containers appeared: both the specific pot in which chocolate was prepared as well as the jar that was used to serve it. The first one was heat resistant, often tin-plated with a big enough opening in the lid to allow the handle of the grinder to stick out which was used to stir the chocolate. The chocolate sets, made of porcelain or silver, had a lid with a handle to provide an opening and the wooden handle was placed at a right angle. In order to assure stability during boiling, they were often placed on a support with three high legs, allowing placing them on a small alcohol stove. In addition special cups for chocolate were produced as well. The grinder was indispensable to prepare chocolate: a wooden beater used to stir the cacao drink to make it more homogenous, velvety and frothy. The process of production which was developed by the Spaniards at the beginning of the 18th century consisted of the following: once toasted, peeled and grounded, the cacao dough was grounded until it turned into a fine pastry which was then mixed with sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, musk and coloring. The chocolate was formed into blocks but even so it was basically used to prepare drinks and only seldom used as candy or to bake cakes.
In 1755 North Americans discover chocolate. The first factory was founded in 1765. Quaker Milton Hershey discovered the chocolate bar with milk and almonds at the beginning of 20th century. In Barcelona during 1777 the production of chocolate by craftsmen was replaced by a mechanical process. At the beginning of the 19th century along with the development of cacao plantations all over the world, the chocolate industry was established and perfected in several countries. The first important step was the solidification of chocolate which allowed the production of chocolate bars. The Italian Doret was the first person to solidify chocolate in Turin. The first chocolate factory was set up in Switzerland, in 1819. The first bar was made in England in 1847 by Fry and Sons. It was a mixture of liquor, cacao and sugar and appeared commercially in Birmingham in 1849 under the name of Chocolat Dèlicieux à Manger (delicious eating chocolate).
The third milestone was Italian and consisted of the invention of chocolate candy (called divu in the Piamont = butt): fat as acorns, they were prepared from a hand-made cacao paste coarsely molded. The gianduja chocolate candy is of Italian origin and takes its name from the Turin mask.
During the 17th century two chocolate tasting schools faced up to each other: the Spanish school related to thick chocolate where bread or cake was moistened and the French school, savoring frothy shakes drunken quickly. The Creole variety of chocolate is the most expensive one and it is rare in the markets of the United States and Europe, but it is a common drink in Central America. Provided by: Bonzac Land Banking • The Bonzac Land Banking program evens the playing field for the smaller investor with their Partnership Program. You invest in a percentage of the property and gain based on your percentage of ownership. "The small investor doing and getting big return”. If you're looking for a solid investment that is backed up with beachfront property in a very desirable retirement area where property values are set to increase by hundreds of percent please visit: http://www.sierramadreholdings.com
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Chocolate is originally from America and is an aliment that became very popular in Europe. It is a very nutritious energy food. Each 100 grams contains: 531 calories, 12.4g of proteins; 43.7g of fat, 43.7g of carbohydrates, 30.0g of fiber, as well as vitamins A and C, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, minerals, calcium iron and phosphorus. Chocolate is a stimulant, just like coffee or tea. 
Some versions say that apparently the first European that tried this drink, forerunner of chocolate, could very well have been Christopher Columbus himself upon arriving at the Guanaja Island (Island of Pines, on the coast of present-day Honduras) in 1502 during his 4th trip to America. Columbus on his return trip to Spain took along samples of cacao for the Catholic Kings however cacao did not become a hit due to its bitter-hot taste and dirty aspect.
Some people affirm, being almost completely certain, that those responsible for bringing chocolate to Spain, Italy and France for the first time where not explorers of the new world but Jesuit missionaries through an international network of convents and monasteries. The story also goes that it was thanks to the pressure of the Jesuit missionaries that raw cacao grains, without processing, started to be exported by boat to Europe. 
In 1615 cacao arrived in France through the marriage of Ana, the daughter of Felipe II, to King Luis XIII of France. Already by 1685 it was one of the favorite drinks of the court, reaching common people thanks to lemonade vendors in Paris who were the first ones to sell it. In the meantime it appeared as a novelty at London’s cafes. 
In 1711, Carlos VI moved his court from Madrid to Vienna, introducing the Spanish fondness for chocolate to the Austrian capital. Vienna became famous for its exquisite cups of chocolate served with glasses of cold water. 
The second step was made around 1828 by a Dutchman, Coenrad Van Houten, upon inventing a hydraulic press that was able to squeeze out the grounded cacao grains and to separate the butter of this new product which could be obtained thanks to cacao powder. The machine could extract up to 50% of the cacao butter. The development of a process known as dutching (adding potash in order to reduce the color and to achieve an easier dissolving of the cacao in milk or water) placed the Dutch at the top of chocolate production. 
The fourth great moment was Swiss: the invention of milk chocolate around 1875 by Daniel Peter which was made possible by taking advantage of milk flour (powdered milk) created by Henri Nestle. The “conchado” (vid.supra) is a Swiss invention, too. 
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