Chocolate is made from the cocoa bean, found in pods growing from the trunk and lower branches of the Cacao Tree.
The Latin name of the cocoa bean ‘Theobroma Cacao’means “food of the gods”.
In 1828, Dutch chemist Johannes Van Houten, invented a method of extracting the fat or “cocoa butter” from ground cocoa beans. The resulting ‘cocoa’ powder was much less bitter tasting and, when combined with sugar or honey, made a drink much more palatable to our taste.
This process known as the Van Houten process made it possible for Fry & Sons of Bristol, England to manufacture and sell the first solid chocolate bar in 1847.
In 1875 a Swiss manufacturer, Daniel Peters also used the Van Houten process to successfully combine chocolate with powdered milk to produce the first milk chocolate.