The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica.2000 BC, in Amazon, Cocoa, from which chocolate is created, is said to have originated in the Amazon at least 4,000 years ago. Cultivation, use, and cultural elaboration of cacao were early and extensive in Mesoamerica.Chocolate is made from cacao fremented, roasted and broken into pieces. American aboriginal people put vanilla or red pepper into liquid made of cacao and drunk it as luxuries, medicines and tonics.But, in 16th centry, Euporean got cacao after conquering Aztecs. Then a Spanish monk spread the existence of chocolate. After that, chocolate was liked by from the novelty and nobility to the oridinaly people.They came to use sugger or milk substitute for red pepper.Chocolate drink changed bitter into sweet, so it became the luxury food in 17 th centry. And they developed the prosess of making modern chocolate bar.In 1828, in Dutch,the cocoa press is invented by Coenraad van Houten (He is creater of the Van Houten).The press lead to reduced prices and helped to improve the quality of the beverage by squeezing out part of the cocoa butter. Drinking chocolate had a smooth consistency and a more pleasing taste.In 1830,solid eating chocolate was developed by J. S. Fry & Sons, a British chocolate maker.In 1849, Cadbury brothers exhibited chocolate: The exhibition was at Bingley Hall at Birmingham, England.In 1938, during World War II,the U.S. government recognized chocolate's role in the Allied Armed Forces. It allocated valuable shipping space for the importation of cocoa beans which would give many weary soldiers the strength to carry. Chocolate has even been taken into space as part of the diet of U.S. astronauts.
A Mayan chief forbids a person to touch a jar of chocolate
Theobroma cacao also cacao tree and cocoa tree, is a small (4–8 m or 15–26 ft tall) evergreen tree in the family Sterculiaceae (alternatively Malvaceae), native to the deep tropical region of the Americas. Its seeds are used to make cocoa powder and chocolate. There are two prominent competing hypotheses about the origins of the domestication of the originally wild Theobroma cacao tree. One is that wild examples were originally distributed from southeastern Mexico to the Amazon basin, with domestication taking place both in the Lacandon area of Mexico and in lowland South America. But recent studies of Theobroma cacao genetics seem to show that the plant originated in the Amazon and was distributed by humans throughout Central America and Mesoamerica.
The tree is today found only growing wild in the low foothills of the Andes at elevations of around 200–400 m (650–1300 ft) in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. It requires a humid climate with regular rainfall and good soil. It is an understory tree, growing best with some overhead shade. The leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–40 cm (4–16 in) long and 5–20 cm (2–8 in) broad.The flowers are produced in clusters directly on the trunk and older branches; they are small, 1–2 cm (1/2–1 in) diameter, with pink calyx. While many of the world's flowers are pollinated by bees (Hymenoptera) or butterflies/moths (Lepidoptera), cacao flowers are pollinated by tiny flies, Forcipomyia midges in the order Diptera. The fruit, called a cacao pod, is ovoid, 15–30 cm (6–12 in) long and 8–10 cm (3–4 in) wide, ripening yellow to orange, and weighs about 500 g (1 lb) when ripe. The pod contains 20 to 60 seeds, usually called "beans", embedded in a white pulp. The seeds are the main ingredient of chocolate, while the pulp is used in some countries to prepare a refreshing juice. Each seed contains a significant amount of fat (40–50%) as cocoa butter. Their most noted active constituent is theobromine, a compound similar to caffeine.The scientific name Theobroma from Greek θεοβρῶμα means "food of the gods". The word cacao itself derives from the Nahuatl (Aztec language) word cacahuatl, learned at the time of the conquest when it was first encountered by the Spanish. Similar words for the plant and its by-products are attested in a number of other indigenous Mesoamerican languages.
Although I eat chocolate usually,I didn't know cacao is not fruit but seed.And I have thought cacao should have long time to grown,but unexpectedly,they grow in only six months.I was shocked at my ignorant of chocolate...
