How Was Chocolate Discovered?  

Introduction

     Mmmmm... chocolate!!!

     Most people think that chocolate is just a sweet treat. But did you also know that people have used cocoa beans for money? They even used chocolate to get ready for battles!

    Humans have been using chocolate for thousands of years since it was first discovered in South America. Keep reading to find out more about the yummy history of chocolate!

The Cacao Tree

     The cacao tree is natural to the Amazon Rainforest in South America. The cocoa beans from the cacao tree were first used by humans at least 5,300 years ago in the place where Ecuador is now located. The Olmec people who used to live where Mexico is today were the first people to make chocolate using the cacao plant.

Ancient Cultures

    Did you know that the Mayan people who invented chocolate mixed together ground cacao seeds, water, chilis and cornmeal in clay pots to make Xocolati, which means "bitter water." This was NOT a sweet drink!

    The Aztec culture used cacao beans like money. They also believed chocolate was a gift from the god Quetzalcoatl, and they drank chocolate to get ready for battle.

    Sweeteners were rarely used by ancient people like the Mayans and Aztecs, but they did flavor chocolate with flowers, vanilla, and chilis. 

    For the beginning of its history, chocolate was only known to the cultures in South America and Central America. But that was about to change!

Chocolate Spreads Around the World

      It’s not known for sure when chocolate first came to Europe. But people think that the explorer Hernan Cortes first brought chocolate to Spain in 1528.

     After the Spanish discovered chocolate they kept it secret from the other countries around them like France. It took about 100 more years for France to finally discover chocolate. 

     In 1615 when the French King Louis XIII married the daughter of the Spanish king, she brought chocolate to the royal palace in France to celebrate their wedding.

    Chocolate was popular but only royal people and rich people were able to afford it.

Is Chocolate Good For You?

     When chocolate first spread through Europe, it was eaten for its health benefit and because it was a fancy rich dessert. But is chocolate really good for you?

     Today, doctors and scientists have found that chocolate does have some good things about it to improve your health. For example, dark chocolate has an ingredient called antioxidants which are good for you. 

    Dark chocolate can improve your heart health. It lowers your blood pressure and increases your blood circulation. So chocolate can help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.

    But sadly chocolate has some negatives too. Chocolate is high in fat and sugar, so it can cause weight gain that leads to other health problems. So a little bit of dark chocolate can be good for you, but you should avoid eating too much chocolate.

The Chocolate Press

     For most of history, it was very hard to make chocolate and it took a long time. In 1828 there was an invention by Koenraad Van Houten called the chocolate press that helped people make chocolate faster. 

    Before the invention of the chocolate press, cocoa was usually just mixed into hot water with sugar to make a drink. Only a few people were able to enjoy it.

    After the invention, cocoa could be made into a solid cake or crumbled into a powder, so that it could be used as an ingredient to make lots of yummy treats. It quickly spread around the world so that chocolate could be used to make candies and pastries and desserts.

   And that's how chocolate started as a bitter tasting bean and ended up as the most famous delicious sweet treat in the world.