The history of chocolate dates back more than 5,000 years, when the cacao tree was first domesticated in present-day southeast Ecuador. Soon after domestication, the tree was introduced to Mesoamerica, where cacao drinks gained significance as an elite beverage among different cultures including the Maya and the Aztecs.

Dec 14, 2017 · Chocolate arrived in Florida on a Spanish ship in 1641, and it’s thought the first American chocolate house opened in Boston in 1682. By 1773, cocoa beans were a major American colony import...

Feb 12, 2015 · Chocolate is often said to have been seen as an ancient medicine and aphrodisiac. Cortez wrote to King Carlos I of Spain of “xocoatl,” a drink that “builds up resistance and fights fatigue.”

Dec 29, 2022 · There is archaeological evidence of the Mesoamerican civilizations making drinks out of cacao beans, which can probably be considered the first form of chocolate prepared in human history. Vessels found from ancient civilizations in Mexico date the preparation of chocolate as far back as 1900 BCE.

1865: The first gianduja, chocolate mixed with hazelnut paste, was created in Italy. 1868: John Cadbury mass-marketed the first boxes of chocolate candies. Quakers, such as the Cadburys, amassed a great fortune producing drinking chocolate as an alternative to alcohol.

Chocolate history starts out around 1000BC in Latin America, where cacao trees grow wild. The first people to use chocolate were probably the Olmec of what is today southeast Mexico, and their word, “kakawa,” gave us our word “cacao.”

Nov 22, 2022 · Chocolate was first discovered by the Mayan civilization in 400 AD. But the history of cacao goes far back to 5,300 years ago. Find out more about it here!

In 1785, Thomas Jefferson predicts that hot chocolate will become as popular as tea or coffee. A company called J.S. Fry and Sons of England adds extra cacao butter to liquid chocolate, turning...