Everyone loves Chocolate!
Over 3 million tons of cocoa beans are consumed around the world annually. So, where did this craze for chocolate start? There is evidence that the cocoa bean was in use as early as 1500bc.
When Hernando Cortez arrived at the Aztec capital he witnessed the use of the cocoa bean as a drink for the royal court of Montezuma. Aztecs added bee honey as a sweetener and vanilla as a flavoring. The Spanish explores wrote about there experience with chocolate while in Tenochitlan. One recorded, "These seeds, which they call cacao, are ground and made into powder and put into certain vessels that have a spout. Then they add water and stir it with a spoon, and after it is well mixed they pour it back and forth from one vessel to another until it is foamy. The foam is gathered and put in a cup, and when they are ready to drink the beverage they beat it with some small spoons made if gold. To drink it one must open the mouth wide, for since it has a froth it is necessary to make room for it to dissolve and go in gradually. This drink is the most wholesome and substantial of any food or beverage in the world, because whoever drinks a cup of this can go through the day without taking anything else even if he is on a journey, and it is better in warm weather than in cold, since it is a cold drink."
The word of this new treat quickly traveled over to Spain, where they adjusted the chocolate recipe to better suit there taste buds. Spaniards added sugar from the Caribbean to add extra sweetness. The recipe of chocolate had been changed many times until they hit perfection. Chocolate began being manufactured at around 1850 and soon became a slight addiction for people across the world. Cocoa Beans was first brought to the Americas on the fourth voyage of Christopher Columbus but it wasn't until later that he experienced chocolate. A ship arrived in 1641 Saint Augustine Florida with the first shipment to the North American colonies of chocolate. Then at around 1737 chocolate advertisements arrived in News Papers which increased the demand for chocolate in the colonies. During the same time, Massachusetts developed a machine that would produce the 100lbs of chocolate every 6hrs. Drinking chocolate was believed to have many benefits and there for was supplied to troops during the French Indian war.
In later developments chocolate changed from a drink to a confection. it wasn't until the 19th century that advertisements appeared for eating sold chocolate. By the 1920s solid chocolate was had extreme popularity across the world. The first milk chocolate bar was developed Daniel Peter in Switzerland 1876. The popularity of milk chocolate began in the 1930s and remains today. As modern Chocolate consumers we understand the benefits of eating dark chocolate and the enjoyment of eating a milk chocolate bar. Chocolate has come a long way, from a drink for the royal court of Montezuma to the theme for a amusement park and the worlds favorite treat.
onthecocoatrail.com
wikipedia.com
I really liked this blog post! I never knew that they used cocoa beans and made it into chocolate so long ago. It's really funny because this is another example, yet again, of how the Spanish really influence our culture in America today. You did a great job of choosing an interesting topic that a lot of people may not know about, and doing a lot of research about it to share the information with a wider audience.
ReplyDeleteGreat job with your blog post! I'm sure a lot of people will be reading it because of the title you have. It definitely made me want to read more. I like how you included that quote from one of the Spanish explorers it helps the reader better understand what they thought of cocoa back then. I can tell you did a lot of research for it which really made it more informative and interesting.
ReplyDeleteGood job on picking an interesting topic for your blog post! It showed me another example of how the Spanish really did influence our culture today. You included many facts and I could tell you did a lot of research about this topic. It made the post more clear and interesting. Overall, very good post!
ReplyDeleteYour creative title made me want to know more; because I also love chocolate. I really liked that you included the history of the cocoa bean and how it all started during the Aztec Empire. You explained this in great detail including many interesting facts like how they would actually eat the chocolate. It was also smart to use a quote that describes the cocoa bean. Each paragraph traced the history of the cocoa bean and how it traveled t throughout out the world which was extremely interesting. However, I think that there were a few wording mistakes and the pictures that you included in your blog post didn’t show up. Also, I think one last paragraph talking about the connection of the cocoa bean to our history class would have made this blog post better. Other than those comments, great job!
ReplyDeleteGreat connection between chocolate and history! I had heard before about chocolate being drunk by the Aztecs, but didn't know anything about all of the iterations that it went through between then and today. Its interesting to think that people had chocolate (albeit in a different form) thousands of years ago. It even baffles me to think that over one hundred years ago, people were able to eat milk and dark chocolate the way we do today.
ReplyDeleteI liked you blog post because it was something different. Not a lot of bog posts talk about the Aztecs and spanish explorers so i thought that was cool. I also liked how you chose a very appealing topic that almost everyone could relate to because most people enjoy chocolate. I did have some prior knowledge about the Aztecs and chocolate but my knowledge wasn't this extensive. The quote you added really emphasized your point. I wish you pictures showed up because you had a lot. I also wish you explained how we talked about the age of exploration and how new things were transferred over from the new world to the old and vise versa. But good job overall!
ReplyDeleteNice job on your blog post! I had no idea that people were eating chocolate as early as the 16th century! Your blog post has a lot of details, and it is explained thoroughly. However, I wish you would have included more on how your topic connects to history class. Other than that, you did a great job!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you tied in something that everyone likes to historic events. You really explained your points thoroughly, and even though the pictures didn't work (at least for me) you still managed to hold my interest for the entirety of this post. Great job.
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