Chocolate

About 2,000 years ago, a tree called the cacao, was discovered in a rainforest.  What made this tree so special, was that it produced seeds, that would later be turned into chocolate.  The first people who made chocolate, were from Mexico and Central America, but they didn't eat it, they used it for a drink.  The cacao tree was worshipped by the Mayan civilization of Central America and Southern Mexico. 

The Aztecs of Central Mexico also wanted the cacao beans, but the climate they lived in, wouldn't allow them to grow the trees, so they had to trade for the beans.  The Aztecs also used the beans as a form of money.  Taxes could be paid with cacao beans.  The Aztecs made their own version of the drink and they called it xocolatl.  It was thought to be an aphrodisiac and their Emperor, Montezuma dranked it constantly. 

When Cortez, of Spain, defeated Montezuma in 1519, his army didn't find much treasure, but what they did find was a lot of cocoa beans.  Cortez soon realized the value of the cocoa beans.  Spain opened up its first chocolate factory and by the 17th century, chocolate powder was being exported to other parts of Europe.  Around 1520, is when the chocolate drink made it to England and  England would eventually send chocolate over to their North American colonies, which later became the United States. 

Up to this point, chocolate was still considered a drink, but in the 1600s, English bakers began using cocoa powder to make cakes.  In 1828, a Dutch chemist, created a process that would remove the cocoa fat from the beans, his intention was to make the drink taste better, but his process was actually a major step towards producing the first piece of solid chocolate.  In 1847, Fry & Sons of England, mixed sugar with cocoa powder and cocoa fat and created the first solid chocolate bar.  In 1875, a Swiss manufacturer, combined, cocoa powder and cocoa fat with sugar and dried milk powder and created the first milk chocolate. 

Though chocolate appears to taste too good to be good for you, it actually does offer some health benefits.  Chocolate contains nutrients, such as, iron, calcium and potassium and also vitamins, A, B1, C, D and E.  Cocoa is a natural source of Magnesium, which can be helpful to the cardiovascular system and hypertension.  Dark chocolate, with the highest concentration of cocoa, is considered the most healthy type of chocolate.  Although chocolate isn't an aphrodisiac, consuming chocolate has been linked to the release of serotonin in the brain, which is believed to produce feelings of pleasure.  

Chocolate is one of life's great pleasures.  As humans, we have a way of creating things, that brings joy to our lives.  But, then we spend the rest of our lives, stripping the joy from what was created.  Chocolate is not a perfect food and no one said it was, but it does give us joy.  Chocolate is probably one of the cheapest ways, to make someone smile.  In a world that grows stressful by the day, chocolate is one of those little gifts, that gets us through the day.