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The Olmecs passed their cacao knowledge to the Ancient Maya of Mexico and Central America, who made chocolate into a spicy drink used in ceremonies. Cacao started to become very precious. Later the Aztecs used cacao for trade and the cacao seeds as a form of money.
In 1502, Christopher Columbus was the first European explorer to come into contact with cacao beans when he and his crew captured a trade ship. He presumed the beans were a type of almond and brought them back to Europe, not knowing the potential value of the unusual beans.
The Spanish Conquistador, HernánCortés, arrived in Central America in 1519.There he saw the Aztec Emperor drinking ‘Xocalatl’, the earliest known hot chocolate, and Cortés realised the great value that it had. Almost ten years later, Cortés established a cacao plantation for trading. He took the beans back to Spain along with the chocolate drink recipe. Here, cinnamon and other spices were added to the bitter brew and it was sweetened with sugar. In 1657, the first chocolate house was opened in London. Cacao was an expensive import and only the rich could afford to drink chocolate. In fact, in France, chocolate could be drunk only by the royal family. Up until the 1700s, chocolate was mainly a drink, but in 1830 the first real, moulded chocolate bar was produced. By the late 19th century, chocolate companies such as Cadbury were mass-producing boxes of chocolates. Today, chocolate is a multi-billion dollar industry and people all over the world love the taste of chocolate. This is an industry that will not go away any time soon. You can even make your own!
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