Chocolate: What is the history, how is it made, and can I make it?

Chocolate has a vast history and is enjoyed by many each day. It has many religious, cultural,
and familial significance. The chocolate we think of today, eating chocolate, has only been
around for a few hundred years, while other forms of chocolate have existed for thousands of
years. In modern times, the traditional form of chocolate is hard to come by. In contrast, the
chocolate business generates millions of dollars each year. As a consumer myself, I was curious
about the history chocolate, the process making chocolate, and whether or not I could make my
own. I began the search with just googling and researching online a bunch. I also tracked down a
couple magazine articles, but the books I found werent super helpful to me. A lot of the websites
and recipes just suggested I start with cocoa powder, but I didnt feel like that was close enough
to scratch. Most recipes resembled fudge rather than chocolate. I wanted a bar of hard snappable
chocolate, rather than a softer fudgy consistency. I interviewed a few of my friends and family
members to see what kinds of chocolate I should attempt. I settled on making dark chocolate,
dark with mint, milk chocolate, and milk with raspberry.
The history of chocolate begins about four thousand years ago, though it didnt even begin to
resemble what we now think of as chocolate. Rather than a sweet solid, it was a spicy, frothy
beverage made from grinding beans from pods of the cacao tree into powder and mixing with
water and chilli peppers. (History.com, 2015). We used to think it originated in the Mayan or
Aztec societies, but current research suggests that that may not have been the case. According to
new archaeological evidence, the first chocolate was made in 1900 BCE by ancient pre-Olmec
people, who occupied Central and South America before the Mayans and Aztecs (Klien, 2015).
The pods of cacao trees were used even earlier, though for a different purpose - Hondurans as
early as 1400 B.C.E fermented the pulp surrounding the beans into alcohol (Fiegl, 2008). : Last

November, anthropologists from the University of Pennsylvania announced the discovery of

cacao residue on pottery excavated in Honduras that could date back as far as 1400 B.C.E. It
appears that the sweet pulp of the cacao fruit, which surrounds the beans, was fermented into an
alcoholic beverage of the time. (Smithsonian.) The cacao beans were so valuable to the
Hondurans that they were used as currency. A hundred cacao beans was roughly equivalent to a
turkey hen. Its very difficult to place a monetary value that is relatable to todays economy, but a
comparison that might make it easier to understand is that one cacao bean was worth one tamale
in some cultures. Still, not a great gauge of what they were really worth compared to todays
currency. You may think its been forever since chocolate could actually be used as money, but
chocolate was used to pay soldiers during the Revolutionary War as well. The Smithsonian
article was one of the most useful sources in the writing of the history portion.
The beverage that is closer to todays hot chocolate was precious, and only for the most
noble in birth. It was believed to have medicinal properties, and was used as an aphrodisiac by
many cultures. It does definitely have some health benefits and endorphin enhancers, but nothing
conclusive has been discovered in ways of its effectiveness as an aphrodisiac. However, dark
chocolate in moderation can be beneficial in terms of cardiac health. Cacao beans have large
amount of flavonoids, which help build cell pathways and provide antioxidant effects, as well as
trace minerals that can be hard to obtain otherwise. Unfortunately, the milk, butter, and sugar can
negate these benefits, so its wise to stick to eating dark chocolate and in smaller amounts.
Another alternative is just eating cacao nibs. They are bitter and dry, but provide all the health
benefits with none of the drawbacks.
When the Spanish conquistadors invaded Central and South America, they were looking for
gold. Instead, they found chocolate. The natives served it to the Spaniards, but the taste wasnt to

their liking until they mixed it with honey or sugar. It became very popular in Spain and was in
high demand. Unfortunately, the same conquistadors brought with them illness and also
murdered nearly all of the native people. The Spanish had found themselves a lucrative business
and wanted to continue reaping the rewards, so they shipped in thousands of slaves to work the
cocoa plantations and replace the thousands of people that were slaughtered. Chocolate
continued to be a treat reserved for the wealthy until the Industrial Revolution, when processes
emerged to make the production cheaper and faster.
Coenraad van Houten is credited for the creation of the cacao press and the treatment of the
beans, and thus the next step forward in the progress of chocolates production. First, the beans
are treated with alkaline salts to make them less bitter and more water soluble. The cacao press
machine takes a cacao nib, the center of the cacao bean, and presses the fats out of it. The fat of
the nib is what is now referred to as cocoa butter. Once the fats have been smooshed out, a dry
cake of cocoa powder is left behind. This cocoa powder is then mixed with milk and sugar to
create Dutch process chocolate, which is very similar to the chocolate we eat today. Dutch
process chocolate is still made today, and is famous for its dark color and mild taste. Some
consider Dutch process chocolate to be far superior to todays version of chocolate. Without this
invention, its possible that the chocolate we know today wouldnt exist. John Cadbury later
implemented van Houtens presses in his own chocolate production. He purchased one of the
original cacao presses right from Coenraad van Houten to create his famous chocolates. The
cacao press is a tried and true method that was definitely a giant milestone in producing of eating
chocolate itself.
Joseph Fry later created the modern chocolate bar by taking the cocoa butter and adding it
back into the Dutch process chocolate. The cocoa butter makes the chocolate more moldable,

adds more flavor, and gives it a better mouthfeel, all essential qualities to what we eat today. As
the human race evolved and grew, so did the way we produce chocolate. It is now a multimillion
dollar business, with several billion pounds of chocolate consumed each year. An average
American consumes roughly twelve pounds of chocolate a year, while the Swiss eat nearly
double that.
Cocoa production is a giant part of some of the producing countries economic wealth. It
generates about 35-40% of all of Ghanas GDP (Daapah.) Not only does it provide income for 40
to 50 million people, it also provides an important familial and cultural link to the past. Cacao
trees are passed down through families and are a source of great pride. This generation of cocoa
farmers is working hard to educate itself to expand profits and to keep the next generation
interested in being a part of their heritage. Its really important that fair trade cocoa be purchased,
so the hardworking families get the money and credit they deserve. Fair trade cocoa is also more
likely to be produced in a sustainable manner, so we can continue to have chocolate for many
years to come (The Story of Chocolate). The Story of Chocolate had basically everything I
needed to know about chocolate and a lot I didnt need to know. It was very useful and very
interesting.
The production of chocolate begins with the cacao tree. Cacao trees are very difficult to
grow, and can only survive within about 20 degrees from the equator. It takes four to five years
of maturing before the trees will even begin to produce pods, and they need perfect conditions.
The majority of the worlds cacao comes from West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central and
South America. Once the pods are ripe, they are harvested and opened by hand. Due to the
difficult nature of growing this plant, most farms only have an acre or two of the trees. The pods
contain white, mushy, pulp that houses the cacao seeds. Each pod holds roughly fifty to sixty

seeds. The seeds are then fermented in the pulp, and dried as much as possible. The fermentation
and drying is a really important step to creating cocoa, as it gives it a lot of the flavor we
recognize as chocolate. The beans are then packaged and sold to a chocolate factory (The Story
of Chocolate.)
The beans are roasted next, giving them more flavor and loosening the nibs from the
bean. The cacao nibs are pressed, giving up two vital ingredients to the manufacturing of
chocolate: cocoa butter and cocoa powder. Cocoa butter is a natural fat and is beneficial in lots of
ways. The most beneficial is improving chocolate, giving it moldability, extra flavor, and a better
texture. The cocoa powder is milled and ground until it liquefies , creating what is called
chocolate liquor. The raw chocolate liquor now needs to be conched. Conching chocolate is
basically just mixing all the ingredients together and grinding it even finer. It gets rid of some of
the unwanted flavors that are developed during fermentation and drying, and reduces viscosity.
Conching can take anywhere from hours to days, and is ideally done by a machine. Sugar,
chocolate liquor, extra cocoa butter, dried milk, vanilla, and other flavor additives are then
ground together with heavy ceramic turnstiles. Conching may take a long time and a lot of effort,
but it is definitely necessary for smooth chocolate (Chocolate Alchemy.)
The last step to creating chocolate is tempering it. There are two ways to temper chocolate.
The first is the much easier and faster, called seeding. Tempering by seeding begins by melting
the chocolate in a double boiler or bain-marie. Once the chocolate has melted and risen to the
perfect temperature, pre-tempered chocolate is added and mixed in to maintain the right
structure. Seeding is kind of cheating and it does contaminate your chocolate with commercial
chocolate, but it is much faster and easier. The other way of tempering chocolate is referred to as
tabling. Again, the chocolate is melted and heated to the right temperature to melt all the crystals,

but it is then poured onto a large stone slab. The chocolate must be agitated and folded
continuously until it reaches the right consistency. Tabling is a much messier and involved
method, but your chocolate isnt contaminated by any commercial brands this way. Tempering
chocolate is essential to prevent the sugars and fats from crystallizing in unwanted ways. Welltempered chocolate is glossy and has a nice snap. The chocolate is then ready to go into molds,
be set, and eaten!
With the knowledge of how chocolate is officially made, I was ready to attempt it at home.
Cacao pods are basically impossible to get your hands on unless you live in one of the few
environments that they can grow in. So instead, I ordered some beans online and purchased
cacao nibs at the local health food store. The cacao nibs are incredibly bitter, but I really enjoy
the texture. They are really crumbly and nice. You can definitely tell that with some sweeteners
and milk they could become chocolate. I interviewed my friends and family on what sorts of
chocolate they want to try, and I decided to make plain dark, plain milk, mint flavored dark, and
milk chocolate with raspberry flavoring. Maybe more depending on how edible they turn out to
be.
Milk chocolate has a higher percentage of powdered milk than dark. White chocolate
only takes cocoa butter from the actual cacao seed, and then is primarily milk products. White
chocolate, though not chocolate, is safe for dogs to eat since its not chocolate. Dark chocolate
just has a higher percentage of the chocolate liquor compared to the milk. Its my goal to have
edible homemade chocolates by the time presentations roll around to bring into class and sample.
The Making
A lot of the equipment necessary for commercial/professional chocolate is very expensive and
was out of my budget. Instead of a real grinder, I just bought a cheap coffee grinder from the

grocery store so if the motor died it wouldnt be a huge loss. Instead of a conching machine, I did
my best with a mortar and pestle. This took away from the smoothness and mouthfeel of my
chocolate, but I still think it was pretty good for my first try.
First, I made a batch of dark chocolate, and made double the amount, and just split it in half to
flavor part of it. This was my downfall for this batch. I overloaded the grinder so it was a huge
mess of grinding part of it, scooping it out, grinding more, and cycling it through until it was
liquidated enough to fit in the grinder nicely. This was both super messy and contributed to my
tiredness with chocolate making later. A plus to overusing your grinder is that eventually its poor
little motor will begin to overheat and help the cocoa butter melt. I have never felt happier than
when the powder turned into liquid. Once it liquified, I put a little in my mortar and pestle and
ground it to try and conch it. I tired of this very quickly. Eventually I just decided to be done,
before it was really done. Then I stuck in a double boiler and seeded it with Lindor dark
chocolate. Half got put in molds to set and half I flavored with mint and retempered, then set.
The dark chocolate ended up super super dark and bitter, while the minty ones were overminted.
I think the ratios were just off because the recipes I was going off of were not super specific.
Another issue was that I dont have a conching machine.
Making the milk ones went a lot smoother. I knew what I was doing a little better and didnt
cram the grinder to full capacity. I didnt put in nearly enough sugar or milk powder into these to
begin with so they didnt taste too good, and I had to add more after I had reached liquid. I think
this made them grainier. Generally, you grind the dry ingredients first a bit to break them down
even more. I had someone to help me grind this batch in the mortar and pestle so that greatly
contributed to the quality of these. They got a considerable amount more conching than the dark
chocolates. Tempering went nicely with these as well. Since these chocolates had added milk

powder, they were a lot thicker consistency and didnt want to come out of the bottle I was
piping from or settle to look pretty.
Getting all the chocolates out of their molds was one of the hardest and most time consuming
parts in the process. I used ice cube trays rather than silicone molds, so I didnt have to make so
many batches of chocolate, which was a big mistake. With a silicone mold, you can kind of peel
them out, but this not the case with an ice cube tray.
Overall, I think this was pretty successful for a first try. When I feel like it again, I definitely
want to give this another go. I dont think I will bother to buy real machines, but who knows.
Chocolate making and learning about it was really fun.

Works Cited
Fiegl, Amanda. "A Brief History of Chocolate." Smithsonian. 1 Mar. 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
"The Story of Chocolate." The Story of Chocolate. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
"The Sweet History of Chocolate." History.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
"Chocolate Alchemy." Chocolate Alchemy. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
"Olmec Civilization." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.