The chocolate industry thrived, and chocolate consumption spiked at the turn of the 20th century. Eventually, now famous companies called their chocolate goods by brand names, such as Hershey’s, Nestlé, and Mars.

It wasn’t until the 19th century that the first chocolate bar was created in Britain. Mesoamerican civilizations used cacao beans to make a chocolate drink using a combination of water, vanilla, and spices, reports. The ancient civilizations of Central America, such as the Aztec and Mayan people, were said to have placed great importance on chocolate. It even gained a reputation for being healthy, thanks to studies of Indigenous people who consumed large amounts of cocoa beans (usually dried and ground into a lightly sweetened drink) and were found to have lower incidences of cardiovascular disease, notes the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The treat eventually made the rounds in Spain, France, and then Britain. Centuries later, Spanish colonizers learned of the prized crop and took cacao pods back with them to Europe. The cacao bean, from which chocolate is made, originally came from Central America, where cocoa trees ( Theobroma cacao) thrived in the tropical climate, per Britannica. While the world of the manufactured candies you see around Halloween and Easter may seem relatively new, chocolate itself is said to be about 4,000 years old, according to. Read on to learn about making chocolate, the different varieties (and what makes white chocolate unique), how much caffeine is in the average chocolate bar, the best way to store it, and other interesting chocolate facts. You may think that because you’ve eaten your fair share of truffles and bars, you know all the facts about chocolate, but what you don’t know may surprise you. Like other plant-based foods, it’s a good source of some important nutrients, and chocolate has been shown to have some benefits for mental and physical health. Depending on the way it’s processed, that same bean can become dark chocolate, milk chocolate, cocoa powder, or cacao nibs, each of which then goes on to make up some of your favorite sweet treats.Ĭhocolate has more to offer than just its decadent flavor, though. What’s slightly harder to wrap your mind around is that all these treats (and many more) come from the humble cocoa tree.Ĭhocolate is the original plant-based superfood, derived from a bean that grows inside a cacao pod. Chocolate chip cookies, German chocolate cake, hot chocolate - it’s easy to spot the common denominator in so many beloved foods.

Choco foods