TEA TRAVELS (TM)
The History of Chocolate
By Ellen Easton C. 2003 All Rights Reserved
Chocolate has complemented the menus of Afternoon Tea since its
inception.
Chocolate is as rich in its history as it is in its flavor. The true
art of chocolate began thousands of years ago. The first domesticated cacao
plants are known to have existed in 1800-300 B.C.E.,growing in the humid lowlands
of the Mexican Gulf coast of Central America.
The ancient Maya, 200-900 C.E., consumed chocolate, course and grainy
in consistency, as a frothy, spicy drink used in ceremonies and celebrations.
The Aztec, 1200-1500, revered chocolate as a luxury drink for
nobility,warriors,rituals and ceremonies. The cacao seeds were used as currency.
Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez,in his quest for gold in the new world,
in 1519, was introduced by the great Aztec leader Montezuma ll
to"chocolatl",warm liquid, in a golden goblet. Due to the bitter taste, it was Cortez who
conceived the idea of adding cane sugar to sweeten the beverage.
Finding favor upon its arrival back in Spain, the drink would have
several transformations, adding new spices, including vanilla and cinnamon. Spain
managed to keep their concoctions a secret for almost one hundred years. When
a group of Spanish monks eventually divulged the secret, it wasn't long
before chocolate was embraced by the European continent, dominating the Court of
France. Great Britain, in 1657, opened the first chocolate house.
Technology to process and manufacture the cacao seed, combined with
creative advertising touting both the health and enjoyment factors, popularized
chocolate in many forms, to new heights. London, England alone had, in the years
1700-1800, two thousand chocolates houses.
Like tea, chocolate in North America is pre-Revolutionary. 1765 dates
New England's first chocolate factory.
The precious commodities tea, chocolate and sugar all coincided at the
tables of the aristocracy.
Unfortunately, the trade success of chocolate resulted in the
exploitation of slave labor in the MesoAmerican and African people. According to the
American Museum of Natural History "at the beginning of the nineteenth century,
the price of ONE TEASPOON of sugar was approximately equal to the monetary
value of ONE DAY in a slaves life."
Ninety percent of chocolates history attributes consumption to be in
the liquid form. The advent of inventions in 1776 of the hydraulic machine to
grind cacao seeds into paste by Frenchman Doret and the cocoa press in 1828, by
Dutch chemist Coenraad Van Houten, allowed chocolate be consistent and less
expensive to produce.
The Quaker family, Fry & Sons, of Bristol, England created, in 1847,
the first solid fondant chocolate for eating. In 1868, Richard Cadbury
introduced the first boxed and Valentine's Day candy box. Further succeeded, in the
1870s, by the Swiss families of Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle developed the
worlds first milk chocolate bar using the Nestles powdered milk formula. A few
years later, Rodophe Lindt's invented a machine to churn a paste into a smooth,
velvety textured blend.
The end of the nineteenth century, in 1893, at the World's Columbian
Exposition in Chicago, Milton S. Hershey purchased a German processing machine
and used it to establish his factory in Southern Pennsylvania. Hershey is now
the largest chocolate manufacturer in the world.
During World War Two, 1941-45, the military received almost the entire
chocolate production in the Untied States. To this day, the United States
Army D rations contain three, four ounce chocolate bars.
Chocolate now graces the tea table in many incarnations. There are
unlimited recipes available to make your next afternoon tea a very sweet affair.
CHOCOLATE FACTS
* The Maya's created pottery, with the word/ symbol for chocolate embedded in
the vessels. ( on view at the American Museum Of Natural History, NYC, NY)
* The Meissen Porcelain factory, 1710 to present day, manufactured some of
the first European chocolate pots, cups and saucers for the sole purpose of
chocolate consumption.
* The Cardinals, at the Vatican, in Italy, designated chocolate as the
preferred drink of choice while in conference to elect a new Pope.
* 1926-27 The NEW YORK COCOA EXCHANGE,INC was established.
* The 1930s depression era sold nearly 40,000 varieties of chocolate in the
Untied States.
* 1992 The Untied States space shuttle Columbia carried chocolate into outer
space.
* Theobroma, part of the scientific name of the cacao tree, means" food of
the Gods", in Greek.
* Cacao seeds contain caffeine, but in very small amounts. One oz. of milk
chocolate contains the same amount of caffeine as one cup of decaffeinated
coffee.
* Chocolate does not cause acne or tooth decay.
* The same natural anti oxidants, called flavenoids, that exist in tea, are
found in chocolate.
HOT CHOCOLATE RECIPE
1 teaspoon cocoa (I prefer Droste,but use your own favorite)
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1/ 8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
1 cup of milk
Marshmallows or whipped cream and chocolate shavings for toppings.
Mix cocoa, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a cup. Add 1 tablespoon of milk.
Mix into a paste.
Heat 1 cup of milk in a sauce pan on the stove. Be careful not to scorch
milk. Fill cup with hot milk, stir. Place topping of your choice on top. Serves
One. Recipe can be multiplied.
Wishing you Happy TEA TRAVELS(TM)! Ellen Easton
About the Author:
Ellen Easton, author of TEA TRAVELS(TM), TEA PARTIES and Good $ense For $uccess(TM) published by RED WAGON PRESS, 45 East 89th Street, Suite 20A, NYC, NY 10128-1256: (212) 722-7981,is a consultant and designer of related products, to the hotel, food
service ,special event and retail industries. She is also available for speaking engagements. Please
contact her for more information.
No copyrighted materials may be reproduced in any other format, now known or unknown, without prior written permission by Ellen Easton/ RED WAGON PRESS.
All copyrights and trademarks remain the sole property of Ellen Easton/ RED WAGON PRESS with all rights reserved. (212) 722-7981
More of Ellen's Articles:
Etiquette Faux Pas
Tea and Silver
Planning a Tea Menu
FAQ About Afternoon Tea
Understanding Tea Time Service
The Afternoon Tea Gown and LaBelle Epoque
The History of Chocolate
A Summer Rose Tea
A Spring Tea Menu
