Who introduced chocolate to Europe?
Spaniards Introduce Chocolate to Europe’s Elite Chocolate arrived in Europe during the 1500s, likely brought by both Spanish friars and conquistadors who had traveled to the Americas.
Did the Aztecs discover chocolate?
The history of chocolate began in Mesoamerica. Fermented beverages made from chocolate date back to 450 BC. The Mexica believed that cacao seeds were the gift of Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom, and the seeds once had so much value that they were used as a form of currency.
How did the Aztecs get chocolate?
Most botanists today believe that the Aztecs imported all their cacao from the same criollo subspecies, the most common Mesoamerican variety. The fruit grows directly from the trunk, each ‘pod’ containing some 25-40 ‘beans’, seeds or kernels. What was traded was NOT the pods but rather the beans inside.
Is chocolate a luxury?
The people who produce it live in extreme poverty. For most people, chocolate is synonymous with indulgence, a rich treat to be relished. But for the millions of small-scale farmers producing most of the world’s cocoa, it’s a synonym for poverty.
Did chocolate used to be a luxury?
In the 1500s, Spanish conquistadors who sailed to Mexico in search of gold and other treasures ended up returning with chocolate instead. However, the delicacy was only available to royalty and the elite, because the chocolate was at that time considered a symbol of luxury, power, and wealth.
Why is chocolate a luxury good?
The social arrangements observed today parallel that of previous societies throughout history, from the Aztec’s strict confinement of chocolate consumption within their social elite to the European’s emphasis on reserving the food for the upper class; the continuation of these previously observed patterns, as embodied …
What makes a chocolate luxury?
Luxury chocolate should contain only the best of ingredients and in preference to inferior ingredients, such as the artificial flavouring “vanillin” or hydrogentated fats, used instead of pure cocoa butter simply because its cheaper. Their chocolates are as pure as chocolate can be.
What is the most luxurious chocolate?
Amedei Porcelana
- Amedei Porcelana, a dark chocolate made by the Amedei chocolatier of Tuscany, Italy, was called the world’s most expensive chocolate.
- Amedei Porcelana is made from translucent, white cocoa beans of a variety now called “Porcelana” due to its porcelain-like color.
What is best chocolate in the world?
The newly formed Academy of Chocolate in London has named Chauo the best chocolate in the world. [via Nickie Goomba.] Chauo won the Gold Medal. Chauo won “because of its fruity flavor and unique character”.