Chocolate, the term that is enough to make us drool is the ultimate choice for all dessert lovers. When we think about chocolate, we either picture a bar of chocolate or a rich and moist chocolate cake with some perfectly whipped chocolate frosting. We mostly relate it to some kind of dessert to relish, although if you go through the history of chocolate it was strictly consumed as a bitter and spiced rich drink by the elites of the society.
According to the researches, the Mayans of Central America arebelieved to be the first to discover cocoa and to make this frothy chocolatedrink out of the cocoa beans which became a treasured Mayan treat followed bymany cultures including the Aztecs, and the Europeans for several centuries.This drink was held in such high esteem that the Mayans used to call it the“food of the gods.” It is said that even the word ‘chocolate’ was derived outof the Mayan word ‘Xocolatl’ which means ‘bitter water.’
During the Aztec period, after them conquering the Mayans, cocoabeans were very valuable that it was even considered equivalent to currency asit became the force of the Aztec economy. They used the beans as money and asfar the Aztecs were concerned, money really did grow on trees.
It was much later when Hernan Cortes landed in the Aztec homelandand took the beans from there and introduced it to Spain. He not onlyintroduced the bean but he also took the recipe and the equipment necessary tomake the frothy chocolate bitter drink that was all the rage in CentralAmerica. Although Cortes was amazed at how much this drink was valued by theAztecs, personally, he did not enjoy the drink much and that made him warm upthe drink a little which tasted better and thus the very first version of hotchocolate was born.
Spain kept cocoa a secret for a very long time, however, as the Spanish cooks started experimenting with the recipe by sweetening it to make it taste better, its popularity quickly spread to other European countries as well. Soon cocoa found its way to France and in a few years, the first chocolaterie was opened in Paris where they followed the same method of preparing the drink as Mayans and Aztecs did.
Chocolate soon made its jump to Great Britain where it was received with much enthusiasm and respect that it soon opened up so many English chocolate houses, much like our coffee shops.
It was in the 1700s, owing to the industrial revolution there were different types of equipment and machines invented for the grinding of the beans which led to the mass production of cocoa and also the cocoa press that was used to squeeze the cocoa butter out of the bean leaving the butter and the cocoa powder separate. All these inventions especially the cocoa press helped in making the chocolate tastier, smoother and creamier leading to the formation of chocolate bars, milk chocolates, or cocoa powder for baking.
At last in the 1800s the Fry Company of Bristol in England made the first-ever edible chocolate after 1000-plus years of chocolate as a beverage and the rest is history.
Today chocolate is indeed a high-end industry in itself and technology has played a huge role in its success. However, there is always something special about the good old artisan way of chocolate making where everything is handpicked and handmade. It is a wonderful feeling to connect with your creations especially when you are making some lusciously decadent artisan chocolates. And what better way is to have that connection than by learning the Artisan way of chocolate making to have hands-on experience in the creation of such satiating edible art?
Chocolate, the term that is enough to make us drool is the ultimate choice for all dessert lovers. When we think about chocolate, we either picture a bar of chocolate or a rich and moist chocolate cake with some perfectly whipped chocolate frosting. We mostly relate it to some kind of dessert to relish, although if you go through the history of chocolate it was strictly consumed as a bitter and spiced rich drink by the elites of the society.
According to the researches, the Mayans of Central America arebelieved to be the first to discover cocoa and to make this frothy chocolatedrink out of the cocoa beans which became a treasured Mayan treat followed bymany cultures including the Aztecs, and the Europeans for several centuries.This drink was held in such high esteem that the Mayans used to call it the“food of the gods.” It is said that even the word ‘chocolate’ was derived outof the Mayan word ‘Xocolatl’ which means ‘bitter water.’
During the Aztec period, after them conquering the Mayans, cocoabeans were very valuable that it was even considered equivalent to currency asit became the force of the Aztec economy. They used the beans as money and asfar the Aztecs were concerned, money really did grow on trees.
It was much later when Hernan Cortes landed in the Aztec homelandand took the beans from there and introduced it to Spain. He not onlyintroduced the bean but he also took the recipe and the equipment necessary tomake the frothy chocolate bitter drink that was all the rage in CentralAmerica. Although Cortes was amazed at how much this drink was valued by theAztecs, personally, he did not enjoy the drink much and that made him warm upthe drink a little which tasted better and thus the very first version of hotchocolate was born.
Spain kept cocoa a secret for a very long time, however, as the Spanish cooks started experimenting with the recipe by sweetening it to make it taste better, its popularity quickly spread to other European countries as well. Soon cocoa found its way to France and in a few years, the first chocolaterie was opened in Paris where they followed the same method of preparing the drink as Mayans and Aztecs did.
Chocolate soon made its jump to Great Britain where it was received with much enthusiasm and respect that it soon opened up so many English chocolate houses, much like our coffee shops.
It was in the 1700s, owing to the industrial revolution there were different types of equipment and machines invented for the grinding of the beans which led to the mass production of cocoa and also the cocoa press that was used to squeeze the cocoa butter out of the bean leaving the butter and the cocoa powder separate. All these inventions especially the cocoa press helped in making the chocolate tastier, smoother and creamier leading to the formation of chocolate bars, milk chocolates, or cocoa powder for baking.
At last in the 1800s the Fry Company of Bristol in England made the first-ever edible chocolate after 1000-plus years of chocolate as a beverage and the rest is history.
Today chocolate is indeed a high-end industry in itself and technology has played a huge role in its success. However, there is always something special about the good old artisan way of chocolate making where everything is handpicked and handmade. It is a wonderful feeling to connect with your creations especially when you are making some lusciously decadent artisan chocolates. And what better way is to have that connection than by learning the Artisan way of chocolate making to have hands-on experience in the creation of such satiating edible art?
