Before the conquistadores
Theobroma cacao, best known as the cacao tree, originated millions of years ago in South America, East of the Andes. The Maya were the first to provide tangible evidence of domesticating its crop.
The Aztecs, dominant in Mesoamerica from the fourteenth century to the Conquest, associated cacao with the god Quetzacoatl. They prepared cacao in a cold and spicy soup, and consumed it as an aphrodisiac or a strengthening drink (for soldiers for example). Xocolli means acid and sour: astringence has always been an essential component of cacao based preparations.
The Aztecs, dominant in Mesoamerica from the fourteenth century to the Conquest, associated cacao with the god Quetzacoatl. They prepared cacao in a cold and spicy soup, and consumed it as an aphrodisiac or a strengthening drink (for soldiers for example). Xocolli means acid and sour: astringence has always been an essential component of cacao based preparations.
A fashionable drink
The conquistadores discovered cacao when they came in contact with the native populations of the new world. Hernán Cortés returned to Spain from his bloody conquest of Mexico in 1521, and brought the recipe for xocoatl (chocolate drink) with him. Adjustments were made, sugar was added, and it became a popular drink among the higher Spanish society.
Publicized as an exotic drink from the Indies, the consumption of chocolate spread across Spain throughout the 17th century. Among the nobility of that period, no afternoon reception would have been complete without the ritual of serving a cup of hot chocolate.
The rest of Europe, and especially France, soon fell under the spell of the cacao bean, thanks in great part to Anne of Austria, the daughter of Philip III of Spain. When she married Louis XIII of France, she brought with her the royal Spanish custom of drinking chocolate at breakfast time.
Publicized as an exotic drink from the Indies, the consumption of chocolate spread across Spain throughout the 17th century. Among the nobility of that period, no afternoon reception would have been complete without the ritual of serving a cup of hot chocolate.
The rest of Europe, and especially France, soon fell under the spell of the cacao bean, thanks in great part to Anne of Austria, the daughter of Philip III of Spain. When she married Louis XIII of France, she brought with her the royal Spanish custom of drinking chocolate at breakfast time.
The first chocolatiers
The first revolution in the industrial history of chocolate happened in 1828, when Dutch chemist Coenraad Van Houten invented a hydraulic press to separate cocoa butter and powder from cocoa mass. Not only was the cocoa powder much more practical than the cocoa mass to use in drinking cocoa, but cocoa butter was needed for the next great invention.
Adding extra cocoa butter to cocoa mass and sugar, Joseph Storrs Fry cast the first chocolate bar in 1847, in Bristol, England. Peter Daniel from Nestlé continued development by adding milk powder to chocolate and the first milk chocolate was made in 1875.
In 1879, Lindt invented the conche. From that moment, chocolate became less sour, more agreeable to the palate, and generally closer to the taste we know today.
Many chocolate makers who still dominate the industry today established themselves in that period, the latter half of the 19th century.
Adding extra cocoa butter to cocoa mass and sugar, Joseph Storrs Fry cast the first chocolate bar in 1847, in Bristol, England. Peter Daniel from Nestlé continued development by adding milk powder to chocolate and the first milk chocolate was made in 1875.
In 1879, Lindt invented the conche. From that moment, chocolate became less sour, more agreeable to the palate, and generally closer to the taste we know today.
Many chocolate makers who still dominate the industry today established themselves in that period, the latter half of the 19th century.
The golden age of couverture
After the second world war, separation of tasks spread to all industries, including the chocolate one. Specialization was increased all along the value chain: the pressers (those who press cacao into butter and powder), the couverturiers (those who make the chocolate matrices by mixing cocoa mass, sugar and cocoa butter) and the chocolatiers (those who use these matrices to make bonbons or chocolate bars) were born. Chocolatiers only got their raw material from the couverturiers. It was the golden age of Belgian, French and Swiss chocolates. Most chocolates sold and eaten today in the world are still made following the same model.
The bean returns
Since the end of the 1990s, and more generally the mid-2000s, some chocolatiers, out of curiosity and passion, have decided to take back control of the whole transformation of cacao, from the bean. Craft, bean-to-bar chocolate is the new trend that is slowly but surely disrupting both the industry and the palate for chocolate, bringing back some of the astringency and sourness of the original Xocolli.