The history of chocolate consumption goes back around 2,500 years. The Aztecs had recently discovered liquid chocolate and believed that the god of wisdom, Quetzalcoatl, had blessed them with it. Cocoa seeds were considered so valuable that they were even used as a form of currency. Back in those days, flavorings in chocolate were scarce and it was consumed as a bitter drink. Chocolates would in fact be sugar-free until the 16th century when Europeans started adding sugar to them. This made chocolate more palatable and quickly caught on in the markets. It became one of many households’ favorite treats.
Many popular present-day chocolate companies started their operations in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Cadbury was founded in England in 1868 and today it is one of the leading chocolate brands. 25 years later Milton S Hershey started Hershey’s which is now one of the biggest and best-known chocolate brands in the world. Nestlé began its operations in the 1860s and has branched out to become one of the largest food conglomerates in the world. What started off as a drink took shape into a currency and has today become one of the biggest industries that not only generates incomes and employees hundreds of thousands of people across the world but produces food items that are loved by so many of us! Chocolate Day also celebrates the incredible versatility of this food ingredient.