HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE
The word "chocolate" comes from the Aztecs of Mexico and is native to lowland tropical South America and the cacao tree, which produces cocoa. It has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Central America and Mexico with its earliest documented use at approximately 1100BC. History tells us that the first chocolate was drunk, not eaten. The chocolate residue found in an ancient Mayan pot suggests that the Mayans, along with the Aztecs, were drinking chocolate about 2,600 years ago.

The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste which must be fermented to develop the flavour that we have all come to love. After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, roasted and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs. The cacao nibs are then ground and liquefied, producing a pure chocolate in fluid form: chocolate liquor. But how did we discover that we could produce this?

Originally, the Aztecs discovered that roasting and grinding cocoa seeds produced a nourishing paste that could be dissolved in water. In the New World, chocolate was consumed as a bitter and spicy drink called "xocoatl" (pronounced "shock-ohwattel"), seasoned with vanilla, chilli pepper and achiote. This soon became an important luxury good, with cocoa beans often being used as currency. Only the highest levels of Aztec society had the experience of this sacred beverage and chocolate continued to be a privilege of the elite until the early 1700s.

CHOCOLATE TO EUROPE
Christopher Columbus was the first European to bring cocoa beans to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain but it was Hernan Cortes who introduced it to Europe in the early 1500s. The Spanish guarded "the chocolate secret" from their European neighbours for about 100 years. During this time, they planted cocoa in their overseas colonies - this set the scene for what was to become a major world commodity. The first form of solid chocolate was invented by Doret in Turin in C18th. From 1826, it was sold in large quantities by Pierre Paul Caffarel. In 1819, F. L. Cailler opened the first Swiss chocolate factory. In 1828, Dutchman Coneraad Johanned van Houten patented a method for extracting the fat from the cocoa beans and making powdered cocoa and cocoa butter. He also developed "the Dutch process" for treating chocolate with alkali to remove the bitter taste. This paved the way for the world's first modern chocolate bar. Englishman Joseph Fry made the first chocolate for eating in 1847 followed by the Cadbury's Brothers in 1849. Daniel Peter brought milk chocolate as a new product to market in 1875.

CHOCOLATE IN C21st
Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, combining chocolate with sugar. The experimentation with chocolate which we have seen throughout history has not stopped - fountains of chocolate have increased in popularity as a device for serving chocolate fondue. Chocolate fountains were first made popular in Canada and the United States but have now expanded far beyond due to increasing consumer demand. Augustus Gloops is a UK market leader in providing the ultimate chocolate experience. Our inspiration comes from the Roald Dahl classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which features our favourite fictional character, chocoholic Augustus Gloop; a person after our own hearts, passionate about chocolate!