Chocolate: Historical Overview

Chocolate, a product derived from the fruit of the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao), originated in the New World. In pre-Columbian times, the Olmec and Maya peoples of Central America figured out how to bring out the rich flavor of cacao beans through a complicated process that involved fermenting and roasting. Christopher Columbus encountered the cacao bean—which he mistook for a type of almond, noting that it was highly prized by the natives—on his fourth voyage in 1502, on the island of Guanaja, off Honduras. Hernán Cortés, during his invasion of Mexico in 1519, found the Aztec emperor and nobles consuming vast quantities of cacao in the form of a dense, frothy beverage thickened with cornmeal and flavored with chilies, vanilla, spices, and other additions. Cacao beans were introduced before 1585 into Spain. A beverage made from ground beans combined with sugar, vanilla, and water became a favorite drink of kings and nobles. This beverage was disseminated from Spain throughout Europe, reaching England by 1657.