ChocolateAnd It’s History

The Cocoa TreePart of human culture for over

2000 yearsOnly grows near the equator: 20

degrees above and 20 degrees below

Cocoa “kah-kow”

Cocoa was originally pronounced Cacoa(kah-kow) but was changed due to the misspelling of the word, and is now cocoa.

Wild Cocoa grows in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, South America and Central America, partially shown to the left.

THE ORIGINS OF WILD COCOA

Simple FactsChocolate is derived from Cocoa Beans. It was

Cacao originally, but became Cocoa as a result of misspelling.

The word 'Chocolate' comes from the Aztec word, 'cacahuatl' or ‘xocolatl’. This means 'bitter water‘.

Henri Nestle of Switzerland was the first to create Milk Chocolate by adding condensed milk to the mixture when making chocolate bars.

Chocolate is a great economy booster. Annual world consumption of cocoa beans averages approximately 600,000 tons per year. Consumers worldwide spend more than $20 billion a year on Chocolate.

Simple FactsEven though Chocolate is high in fat, it

does not appear to raise blood cholesterol.Chocolate is one of the most popular foods

around and is highly unlikely to ever go out of fashion.

The precious Cocoa Beans were used as a currency and as a unit of calculation in the Mayan and Aztec Cultures.

The first people to make chocolate were the ancient cultures of Mexico and Central America.

Chocolaty HolidaysChocolate has become one of the most popular flavors in the world. Gifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and eggs are popular on Easter, chocolate coins on Hanukkah, Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas, and hearts on Valentine’s Day. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce chocolate milk and hot chocolate.

Chocolate…Contains alkaloids such as

theobromine and phenethylamine, which have physiological effects on the body

Can lower blood pressureTheobromine helps boost low

blood-sugar levels and another chemical, Chromium, helps to control blood sugar.

Theobromine is the toxin that chocolate releases when eaten, but is only toxic to animals such as the horse, parrot, small rodent, cats, and dogs because they are unable to metabolize the chemical effectively. If fed chocolate it will remain in their bloodstream for up to 20 hours, and these animals may experience epileptic seizures, heart attacks, internal bleeding, and eventually death.

THEOBROMINE

Milton S. Hershey 1900: Milton Hershey introduces the Milk Chocolate Bar. 1903 Milton Hershey builds a chocolate factory 1906 The town of Derry Church, Pennsylvania changes its name to

Hershey to honor Milton S. Hershey. 1907 On July 1, 1907 the first Hershey Kisses are made. 1908  Theodore Tobler develops the unique triangular nougat filled

chocolate candy bar called Toblerone. 1908 first milk chocolate bar with almonds. 1909 The Hershey Chocolate Company states making Silvertops, a

version of the Hershey's Kisses that are sold individually. 1911 Frank and Ethel Mars build a candy company in Tacoma,

Washington. Later it become the Mars, Inc. 1912 The Whitman Company produces the boxed assortments called

Whitman's Samplers. This is the first company to have a drawing of where the different chocolates are located in the box.

1914 L. S. Heath & Sons, Inc. makes the first Heath Bar in Robinson, Illinois.

1919 The Fry family merges with the Cadbury Brothers. 1921 The Hershey Food Corporation begins to wrap the Kisses by

machine and add the flag to the wrapping.

Milton S. Hershey 1922 H. B. Reese makes the first Reese's peanut butter cup using

Hershey's milk chocolate. 1923 Frank Mars creates the first Milky Way candy bar. This candy has a

nougat center. 1923 Hershey Foods Corporation registers the name Hershey's Kisses as a

trademark. 1925 The Hershey Chocolate Company makes the first Mr. Goodbar. 1927 The Hershey Chocolate Company is renamed Hershey Chocolate

Corporation. 1928 L. S. Heath & Sons, Inc. develops the toffee candy bar called the

Heath Bar. This candy bar can be bought on the home-delivered dairy order form.

1929 Peter, Cailler, and Kohler merge with Nestlé ending 30 years of rivalry between the two companies.

1930 Frank Mars makes the first Snickers candy bar. 1938 The Hershey Chocolate Corporation makes the Krackel bar. 1939 Blommer Chocolate Company begins manufacturing in Chicago,

Illinois. It will become the largest commercial chocolate manufacturer in the United States.

1941 Forrest Mars returns to the United States from England. He goes into business with Bruce Murrie, who is the one of the president of the Hershey Chocolate Company. They call their new company M & M Ltd. Together they make the first M & M's.

1947 Peter Paul makes the first Almond Joy.

Milton S. Hershey 1950 Sam Altshuler starts the Annabelle Candy Company, Inc. He names his

company for his daughter and makes the first Rocky Road candy bar. 1962 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped in colors other than silver for the first time. 1963 Hershey Chocolate Company buy H. B. Reese Candy Company, Inc. for

$23.5 million. 1966 The Campbell Soup Company buys the Godiva Chocolatier, Inc. of

Belgium. 1969 The Cadbury chocolate business merges with the Schweppes soft drinks

to form Cadbury Schweppes. 1970 The Tobler company merges with the Suchard to become the largest

chocolate company. 1970 Because the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are so popular the company has

to double its size. 1973 The Cadbury Company opens Chocolate World theme park in Bournville,

England. 1973 The Hershey Foods Corporation opens its theme park, Hershey's

Chocolate World. 1973 Hershey Foods begins putting nutritional information on their labels. 1976 Hershey Chocolate Company adds chopped peanuts to the Reese's

Peanut Butter Cups to make Reese's Crunchy. 1977 Hershey Foods makes the first Golden Almond chocolate bar.

Milton S. Hershey 1980 An employee of the Schare-Tobler tries to sell secret

chocolate recipes to Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia. Luckily he was unsuccessful.

1988 Nestlé buys the British chocolate and candy manufactures Rowntree. This makes Nestlé the world's largest chocolate manufacturer.

1988 Hershey Chocolate Company is renamed Hershey Chocolate U.S.A. The company buys Peter Paul.

1989 Hershey Chocolate U.S.A. makes the Symphony milk chocolate bar with almonds and toffee chips.

1990 Hershey sends 144,000 of their heat-resistant candy bars to soldiers in the Gulf War, Desert Storm.

1991 The recipe for Reese's Peanut Butter Cup is changed to add three times the amount of peanuts.

1993 The first Hershey's Hugs and mini Hershey's Kisses wrapped in white chocolate are sold.

Modern day ChocolateChocolate is very famous

throughout the world today, and is very unlikely to go out of fashion any time soon.