Introduction
Chocolate comes from the cocoa plant. People first discovered cocoa in a land that is the present day Mexico. This happened during the Aztec period. Chocolate is a dynamic food because people keep changing how they consume it over time. From an aphrodisiac, royal drink and stimulant chocolate has changed over time. Here is a brief history of chocolate.

14th -18th Century
In 1400BC, man discovered chocolate. In 2007 an anthropologist discovered chocolate in a pot that he discovered and he dated it to the 1400’s. He said that the chocolate was in a fermented and alcoholic state and claims that that is how people took it back then. During the time when chocolate first came to existence, it was a bitter beverage. Nowadays, chocolate can range from bitter to sweet. Back then, people called it the ‘food of the gods’. The people who discovered chocolate were called the Mesoamericans. The cocoa plant grew in Central America. These people fermented and roasted the crop (Becket 4). They then ground the beans into a powder and would use this powder and mix it with honey water milk and even chili to make a drink. They claimed that it relaxed people and found that it was refreshing aphrodisiac and it enhanced moods.
In 14th century the Aztec people dominated Mesoamerica and they began to run out of coca beans. These beans would not survive in Central Mexico and they were so rare that they used them as currency. For example, people bought a turkey for a hundred beans. This shows how rare the beans were. Chocolate was a sign of how powerful or wealthy the people in that time were. Only the royal people and the elite groups would afford the beans. Through this time, the Spanish people managed to keep chocolate a secret. However, the daughter of King Phillip married King Louis XIII and she took chocolate to France (Boynton 5). She was from Spain and he was French. After this the beans spread and people in Europe continued to plant the beans. In Europe, only the elite consumed the drink. The Europeans established different plantations and soon the world started growing sugarcane and cocoa. Soon the Europeans got African slaves to work in the plantation.
18th -19th Century
A Dutch chemist invented the cocoa press and this invention made chocolate from the beans. This press would press the oily cocoa beans and would make dry bars of chocolate. People would crush the chocolate into powder and they would use it in their drinks. Soon, chocolate was affordable to everybody. The confectionery companies took it up as an ingredients to make sweet treats and desserts. The first company to make edible chocolate bars was J.S Fry & Sons in 1847. They used cocoa butter, sugar and chocolate powder. There have been different advancements in the chocolate making and different chocolates have come forth. The different ranges are soft, crunchy velvety smooth and hard among other consistencies.
The 20th Century
The 20th century became the creative time for chocolate. People would mold chocolate into different pastries and treats. In 1911 the Mars Company that dealt with chocolate came into existence. In 1912, Jean Nehaus from Belgium invented a chocolate shell that could hold nuts and soft centers. In the 1920s, people produced chocolate bars in 30 and 45 grams. In 1930, Nestle chocolate company made Galak, which was a white chocolate (Lippi 22). In the early 1940s, the American army went on to put chocolate as a snack in the rations of the army.
Conclusion
Through time, people have changed how they consume chocolate. People have different tastes and preferences and there are different ways for them to enjoy it. Chocolate makes pastries a tasty delight and when consumed on its own it has calming and relaxing properties.