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Chocolate comes in different forms; as a beverage, a flavouring agent, in desserts and of course chocolate bars. Each form has a different history, however, the most ancient is the use of drinking cocoa. People began drinking chocolate in the tropical regions of South America, where for thousands of years the cocoa tree grew wild, and for which the Indians valued its properties.

The Toltecs and Incas were familiar with the cocoa tree, however, it was the Mayans who successfully cultivated it and developed thriving business from plantations in the Yucatan. Nevertheless the real story of chocolate begins with the Aztecs.as the cocoa bean was, in fact, the monetary currency of the Aztecs and the grilled seeds were ground to prepare a drink called 'xocolatl' which today is known as chocolate.

The first European encounter with cocoa was when Columbus ran into a Mayan trading canoe that was carrying cocoa beans, and in particular a very expensive type of chocolate on the market today was named Guanaja, after the place in which this encounter took place.

In 1502 Columbus returned to Spain, however, it was not until twenty years later that the last Aztec Emperor showed the Spaniards how to drink 'xocolatl' - a beverage that was considered invigorating and useful to combat fatigue.

The 17th Century was the most important period in the history of chocolate's conquest of Europe. The Dutch dominated the cocoa trade, which is still the case today. The taste for chocolate spread from Spain to Italy and then to France, and like Spain chocolate remained a luxury available only in the courts and the upper classes. In other countries, such as England, it was modified, using additional ingredients such as sweet red wine and egg yolk, followed by the replacement of water with milk.

The real revolution came with solid chocolate, thanks to the invention of a hydraulic machine to crush the cocoa bean. This made it possible to eliminate much of the fat contained in the seed, rendering it more soluble. A press was also invented, which extracted two-thirds of the cocoa butter, which laid the foundation for the development of chocolate as we know it today, and of course created by names familiar the world over; Nestlé, Lindt, Hershey and Cadbury, to name but a few.