Cocoa & More

Origin & History

The history of chocolate stretches back thousands of years, with the Olmecs and Mayans in Mesoamerica (present-day Mexico and Central America) being among the earliest civilizations to cultivate and consume cacao. Chocolate has held cultural and ceremonial significance for various civilizations, with the Aztecs using cocoa beans as currency and the Mayans considering it a food of the gods. The Spanish conquistadors encountered chocolate in the Aztec Empire in 1519 and introduced it to Europe, where it quickly gained popularity, particularly among the elite. In 1847, Fry's invented a method of mixing cocoa butter with cocoa powder and sugar to invent a non-brittle and dry eating chocolate, commonly considered the first chocolate bar.

Milk Chocolate

In 1875, Daniel Peter of Vevey, Switzerland, introduced the formula for the world's first milk chocolate by incorporating the sweetened condensed milk that had just recently been invented by his friend and neighbor, Henri Nestlé.