Consumption

From the first-time Theobroma cacao was discovered in Mesoamerica to the present a lot of things have changed, like where its grown, how its produced and who has access to it. It has been adapted and changed by many innovators. Numerous countries like Spain, England, France, The Netherlands and even The United States have transformed cacao into their national identity. While some countries continued to use cacao to make a drink, countries like The Netherlands and England started producing what we know as chocolate. It went from a ceremonial and religious drink in Mesoamerica prior to the conquest, to a treat for the nobles and the elite in Europe in the 17^th century. By the end of the 18^th century it had become a common cheap good around the west with the help of the Industrial Revolution. In the 20^thcentury it had become a cheap commodity for the masses and the majority of chocolate was produced using bulk cacao and then in the 1920s the focus shifted, and quality became once again very important. It became more about the origin and type of beans than of the convenience and range of different additives. With this development the production and consumption of chocolate went full circle from a noble drink to a curated special bean to bar product.