When did chocolate first arrive in Europe?
There are conflicting reports about when chocolate arrived in Europe, although it’s agreed it first arrived in Spain. One story says Christopher Columbus discovered cacao beans after intercepting a trade ship on a journey to America and brought the beans back to Spain with him in 1502.
How did Spain become the world's largest chocolate producer?
As a result, Spain also became home to the very first chocolate factories, where the dried, fermented beans shipped from the New World were roasted and ground. Eventually, with the decline of Spain as a world power, the secret of cacao leaked out, and the Spanish Crown's monopoly over the chocolate trade came to an end.
What did the Spaniards mix to make chocolate?
The Spaniards mixed the beans with sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and cinnamon. The results were tantalizing, coveted, fashionable, and reserved or the Spanish nobility which created a demand for the fruits of his Spanish plantations. Chocolate was a secret that Spain managed to keep from the rest of the world for almost 100 years!
Why did the Spanish hide chocolate from the rest of Europe?
But it seems the Spanish wanted to keep the chocolate discovery from the rest of Europe. For close to a century, Spain hid the secret of the cacao beans, restricting their processing exclusively to monks hidden away in Spanish monasteries.
Was chocolate invented in Spain?
Spain was also the place where the world's first chocolate factories were created. One of the first was actually in Barcelona. To experience the true birthplace of chocolate, as we know it today, head to the Monasterio de Piedra in Aragon.
How did Spain get chocolate?
Chocolate reaches Spain and Europe After Cortez and pals conquered the Aztecs, they kept right on using cacao as currency. The Spaniards are credited with adding sugar to chocolate, making it much more flavorful. Chocolate was the first caffeine to reach Europe, beating out coffee and tea by a few years.
When was chocolate first brought to Europe?
Chocolate arrived in Europe during the 1500s, likely brought by both Spanish friars and conquistadors who had traveled to the Americas.
Why did the Spaniards take chocolate to Spain?
Nobles of that time used chocolate not only to showcase and “prove” their wealth to others, but also to entertain visitors. 17th and 18th century Spanish custom demanded that ladies gifted male visitors with the cup of chocolate cup, which was consumed by sitting on expensive cushions.
Who brought chocolate to Spain?
explorer Hernán CortésNo one knows for sure when chocolate came to Spain. Legend has it that explorer Hernán Cortés brought chocolate to his homeland in 1528. Cortés was believed to have discovered chocolate during an expedition to the Americas. In search of gold and riches, he instead found a cup of cocoa given to him by the Aztec emperor.
Which European country first had chocolate?
SpainThe correct answer is Spain.
How did the Spaniards react when first introduced to chocolate?
In Spain, chocolate was exclusively considered a refreshing drink, and it was rarely used in other ways—though there are older Spanish dishes that use cocoa. After the Spanish Civil War the custom declined in favour of coffee consumption.
What is chocolate made of poop?
Mandailing Estate Coffee In fact, the entire gimmick behind this chocolate bar is the fact that it contains poop. It contains the poop of a civet cat (or kopy luwak) from Indonesia. Civet cats are famous for eating coffee beans, then pooping them out, and for some reason this makes the coffee better.
What came first chocolate or vanilla?
Because they think vanilla (due to its white color) is the basis for all other flavors. However, according to historical evidence, chocolate was the flavor invented first!
What is chocolate called in Spanish?
[ˈtʃɒklɪt ] chocolate m. (= individual sweet) bombón m.
Is Spain known for chocolate?
You might know Spain for its' Tapas, Paella and Jamon- but did you know that it's also the birthplace of chocolate in Europe? Over 500 years ago, the conquistadors returned from the new world with gold, turquoise- and chocolate.
What is the most popular chocolate in Spain?
Let's take a look at the most popular chocolates in Spain.Huesitos. HUESITOS. ... Conguitos. CONQUITOS. ... Simon Coll Chocolate 99% Cocoa. SIMON COLL CHOCOLATE 99% COCOA. ... Turrón. TURRŌN. ... Marzipan. MARZIPAN. ... Mantecado. MANTECADO. ... Chupa Chups. CHUPA CHUPS. ... Lacasitos. LACASITOS.More items...
Is Spain known for chocolate?
You might know Spain for its' Tapas, Paella and Jamon- but did you know that it's also the birthplace of chocolate in Europe? Over 500 years ago, the conquistadors returned from the new world with gold, turquoise- and chocolate.
Why is chocolate popular in Spain?
It was Spanish explorers who first brought chocolate to Europe more than 500 years ago. And the Spanish were the first to mix the bitter cocoa with sugar, transforming a bitter Mayan drink into the sweet hot chocolate drink we know (and love) today.
How does Spain use chocolate?
In Spain, chocolate was exclusively considered a refreshing drink, and it was rarely used in other ways—though there are older Spanish dishes that use cocoa. After the Spanish Civil War the custom declined in favour of coffee consumption.
What did Spain invent?
Other useful everyday Spanish inventions include the first modern version of the stapler (Juan Solozabal and Juan Olive), the first mechanical pencil sharpener (Ignacio Urresti), the classical guitar, and packaged cigarettes, among many others. Spanish inventions also include items with a fun flare.
How Chocolate Is Made
Chocolate is made from the fruit of cacao trees, which are native to Central and South America. The fruits are called pods and each pod contains around 40 cacao beans. The beans are dried and roasted to create cocoa beans.
Mayan Chocolate
The Olmecs undoubtedly passed their cacao knowledge on to the Central American Mayans who not only consumed chocolate, they revered it. The Mayan written history mentions chocolate drinks being used in celebrations and to finalize important transactions.
Cacao Beans as Currency
The Aztecs took chocolate admiration to another level. They believed cacao was given to them by their gods. Like the Mayans, they enjoyed the caffeinated kick of hot or cold, spiced chocolate beverages in ornate containers, but they also used cacao beans as currency to buy food and other goods.
Spanish Hot Chocolate
There are conflicting reports about when chocolate arrived in Europe, although it’s agreed it first arrived in Spain. One story says Christopher Columbus discovered cacao beans after intercepting a trade ship on a journey to America and brought the beans back to Spain with him in 1502.
Chocolate in the American Colonies
Chocolate arrived in Florida on a Spanish ship in 1641. It’s thought the first American chocolate house opened in Boston in 1682. By 1773, cocoa beans were a major American colony import and chocolate was enjoyed by people of all classes.
Cacao Powder
When chocolate first came on the scene in Europe, it was a luxury only the rich could enjoy. But in 1828, Dutch chemist Coenraad Johannes van Houten discovered a way to treat cacao beans with alkaline salts to make a powdered chocolate that was easier to mix with water.
Nestle Chocolate Bars
For much of the 19th century, chocolate was enjoyed as a beverage; milk was often added instead of water. In 1847, British chocolatier J.S. Fry and Sons created the first chocolate bar molded from a paste made of sugar, chocolate liquor and cocoa butter.
2000 BC, Amazon
Cocoa, from which chocolate is created, is said to have originated in the Amazon at least 4,000 years ago.
Sixth Century AD
Chocolate, derived from the seed of the cocoa tree, was used by the Maya Culture, as early as the Sixth Century AD. Maya called the cocoa tree cacahuaquchtl… "tree," and the word chocolate comes from the Maya word xocoatl which means bitter water.
300 AD, Maya Culture
To the Mayas, cocoa pods symbolized life and fertility... nothing could be more important! Stones from their palaces and temples revealed many carved pictures of cocoa pods.
600 AD, Maya Culture
Moving from Central America to the northern portions of South America, the Mayan territory stretched from the Yucatán Peninsula to the Pacific Coast of Guatemala. In the Yucatán, the Mayas cultivated the earliest know cocoa plantations.
1200, Aztec Culture
The Aztecs attributed the creation of the cocoa plant to their god Quetzalcoatl who, descended from heaven on a beam of a morning star carrying a cocoa tree stolen from paradise. In both the Mayan and Aztec cultures cocoa was the basis for a thick, cold, unsweetened drink called xocoat l… believed to be a health elixir.
1492, Columbus Returns in Triumph From America
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella were presented with many strange and wonderful things… the few dark brown beans that looked like almonds didn’t get a lot of attention.
1502, Columbus landed in Nicaragua
On his fourth voyage to America, Columbus landed in what is now called Nicaragua. He was the first European to discover cocoa beans being used as currency, and to make a drink, as in the Aztec culture. Columbus, who was still searching for the route to India, still did not see the potential cocoa market that had fallen into his lap.
Xocolatl
The discovery of America brought not only gold and gems from the other side of the Atlantic, but other products unknown in Spain and Europe and that would one day become emblematic of the country and the continent's gastronomy. Potatoes and tomatoes for instance have become two of the main ingredients of most European countries.
Controversy in the Church
In the beginning chocolate in Spain was consumed as a medicine to cure organic weakness, but it wouldn't be long until it became almost an addiction throughout the country.
Forgery
Leaving the church aside, chocolate in Spain presented another problem: counterfeit.
Chocolate and the Spanish
It was only a matter of time before the secret of chocolate spread beyond the Mesoamericans, and that journey began with the Spanish conquests in the New World. Christopher Columbus may have been the first Old World explorer to come across cacao beans.
Cacao Sails to Spain
While the Spanish explorers who conquered Mesoamerica in the early 1500s were likely the first Europeans to be introduced to chocolate, it is believed that the first chocolate to reach the Old World arrived in 1544.
It all started in Latin America
Chocolate’s 4,000-year history began in ancient Mesoamerica, present day Mexico. It’s here that the first cacao plants were found. The Olmec, one of the earliest civilizations in Latin America, were the first to turn the cacao plant into chocolate. They drank their chocolate during rituals and used it as medicine.
Chocolate reaches Spain
No one knows for sure when chocolate came to Spain. Legend has it that explorer Hernán Cortés brought chocolate to his homeland in 1528.
Chocolate seduces Europe
The Spanish kept chocolate quiet for a very long time. It was nearly a century before the treat reached neighbouring France, and then the rest of Europe.
A Chocolate Revolution
Chocolate remained immensely popular among European aristocracy. Royals and the upper classes consumed chocolate for its health benefits as well as its decadence.
Modern-Day Magnum
Fast forward a couple of centuries and Magnum Classic appears on the scene.
History
Cultivation, consumption, and cultural use of cacao were extensive in Mesoamerica where the cacao tree is native. When pollinated, the seed of the cacao tree eventually forms a kind of sheath, or ear, 20" long, hanging from the tree trunk itself. Within the sheath are 30 to 40 brownish-red almond-shaped beans embedded in a sweet viscous pulp.
History in Europe
Until the 16th century, the cacao tree was wholly unknown to Europeans.
Modern use
Roughly two-thirds of the world's cocoa is produced in Western Africa, with Ivory Coast being the largest source, producing a total crop of 1,448,992 tonnes. Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon are other West African countries among the top 5 cocoa-producing countries in the world.
Further reading
Mara P. Squicciarini and Johan Swinnen. 2016. The Economics of Chocolate. Oxford University Press.