December 13th ushers in a celebration worthy of the winter holidays with National Cocoa Day. What better way to warm up after a cold day outside?
- 250 AD – The Mayans are credited with creating the first chocolate beverage around 2000 years ago.
- 1400 – Culturally, cocoa became an essential part of the Aztec civilization by 1400 AD.
- 16th – 19th Century – Until the 19th century, drinkers used hot chocolate medicinally to treat ailments such as stomach diseases.
- 1500s – The explorer Francisco Hernández wrote that chocolate beverages helped treat fever and liver disease.
- 1500s – Another explorer, Santiago de Valverde Turices, believed that large amounts of hot chocolate helped treat chest ailments, but smaller amounts could help stomach disorders.
- 1502 – During the summer of 1502, on his fourth visit to the Americas, Christopher Columbus finds cocoa beans from a native Mayan trader near modern Honduras.
- 17th Century – In England, “chocolate houses” were popular among the elite, serving hot cocoa in ornate pitchers made of gold, silver, or porcelain. These venues were hubs for political discussions and social gatherings.
- 17th Century – When cocoa from the Americas first arrived in London in the 17th century, it was an instant hit with artisans, philosophers, thinkers, and even politicians.
- 1600s – European hot chocolate first came to the US as early as the 1600s by the Dutch,
- 18th Century – Cocoa beans are called “cocoa” beans and not “cacao” beans because of a spelling mistake made by English importers in the 18th century when chocolate was becoming popular.
- 1729 – The first mechanical cocoa grinder is invented in Bristol, U.K.
- 1755 – the first time colonists began selling hot chocolate was around 1755.
- 1775 – Visitors to Monticello can sample hot chocolate made the way Thomas Jefferson preferred it. Using stone-roasted cacao, sugar, and spices.
- 1824 – Cadbury is founded by John Cadbury in Birmingham, U.K., where he sells tea, coffee, and drinking chocolate.
- 1828 – powdered chocolate is made, and in that glorious moment of culinary history, both the chocolate bar and instant hot cocoa came into existence.
- 1914 – During World War I, volunteers from the YMCA set up recovery stations near the battlefields to assist and comfort fatigued troops; warm cups of hot chocolate were staples at these stations.
- 1944 – Americans fighting in World War II were also treated to the hot drink when cocoa was added to some of the military’s field rations in 1944.
- 1947 – The increase in the price of chocolate candy bars by three cents in Canada leads to short-lived country-wide youth protests.
- 1950s – In the 1950s and 1960s, Charles Sanna produced the product (tested on his children) that would later become Swiss Miss.
- 2005 – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which makes all things cocoa-alluring, tops the box office charts for five weeks.
- 2017 – The largest hot chocolate party was attended by 2,106 participants and was achieved by Sanki Mayor (Japan) and Chocolatier Bonnat (France), in Mexico City, Mexico, on 4 March 2017. Sanki was celebrating its seventh anniversary in Mexico.
- 2018 – The largest cup of hot chocolate/cocoa contained 4,816.6 liters (1059.4 U gal, 1272.3 US gal) and was achieved by the Municipio de Uruapan (Mexico), in Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, on 6 January 2018.
- Hot chocolate is also known as drinking chocolate.
- Chocolate contains over 600 flavor compounds, which give it a distinct aroma.
- Cocoa contains significant amounts of antioxidants that may help prevent cancer. They have also shown that the cocoa bean helps with digestion. The flavonoids found in cocoa also have a positive effect on arterial health.
- Americans have come to use the terms “hot chocolate” and “hot cocoa” interchangeably, obscuring the considerable difference between the two.
- “Hot cocoa” is made from powder made by extracting most of the rich cocoa butter from the ground cacao beans.
- “Hot chocolate,” is made directly from bar chocolate, which already contains cocoa, sugar, and cocoa butter.
- Thus the major difference between the two is the cocoa butter, which makes hot cocoa significantly lower in fat than hot chocolate, while still preserving all the intrinsic health-giving properties of chocolate.
- A study conducted by Cornell University has shown that hot chocolate contains more antioxidants than wine and tea, therefore reducing the risk of heart disease.
- In Peru, for example, hot chocolate is part of an ancient tradition served with Panettone at breakfast on Christmas Day. The tradition started in Cuzco, one of the world’s best-quality cocoa-producing regions.
- In the Netherlands hot chocolate is a very popular drink known as “warm chocolademelk”.
- In mainland Europe primarily in Spain and Italy, hot chocolate is served very thick thanks to thickening agents such as cornstarch.
- Among the multiple thick forms served in Europe is the Italian “cicoccolata dense”. The Spanish revere the combination of churros and hot chocolate, often having the consistency of chocolate pudding, as the working man’s breakfast.
- In France, hot chocolate is often served at breakfast along with sliced bread spread with butter, jam, honey, or Nutella and is dunked into the drink.
- In Palau-de-Cerdagne, France, the Xicolatada festival on August 16th involves brewing large cauldrons of hot chocolate over wood fires, a tradition spanning over 300 years.
- There are specific brands of hot chocolate specially formulated for breakfast time.
- Order a cup of “warm chocolade” or “chocolat chaud” in a Belgian café and other European areas, you will receive a cup of steaming white milk and a small bowl of bittersweet chocolate chips to dissolve in the milk. Rich hot chocolate is often served in demitasse cups.
- Cacao trees are found only in hot, rainy, tropical climates, 20 degrees north and south of the equator, just like vanilla.
- Cocoa/chocolate is thought to be an aphrodisiac.
- The Swiss consume more chocolate per capita than any other nation on earth: 22 pounds each compared to 11 pounds per person in the United States.
Sources:
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
