1000 BC: Food of the gods

Cocoa was cultivated and used by the Maya, Olmec, Toltec, Inca and Aztec peoples of Mexico and Central America for over two thousand years. They considered the cocoa tree sacred, naming it “Food of the Gods Tree. Probably called Xocolatl, they drank chocolate as a bitter, frothy drink made from ground, roasted beans that were mixed with red chili and other spices. In the fourteenth century, the Aztecs started to use it also as a form of payment.

1518: Cortés introduces chocolate to Europe

Although Columbus first discovered cocoa, it went unnoticed until the Spanish conquistador Cortés brought

cocoa to Europe after having conquered Mexico and the Aztecs. The Spanish began to grow cocoa and retained a monopoly over the product for over one hundred years. (The cocoa tree was later introduced to the Caribbean, the East Indies and the Philippines. The two principle producers today, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, adopted cocoa as cash crops in 1879 and 1905, respectively.) Spain remained the centre for chocolate production and consumption in Europe well into the eighteenth century. Cocoa started to become popular in Europe when sugar was added and the drink was consumed hot. Chocolate was consumed initially more for its health benefits than as a sweet treat. And although the whole of Europe became engulfed in a chocolate craze, it remained, for the time being, an expensive treat that only aristocrats and the very well to do could afford.

1693: Chocolate arrives in Turkey

The first mention in historical records of chocolate on Turkish soil (what was then the Ottoman empire) belongs to the 17th century Italian adventurer and traveller Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri (1651-1725) who is reported to have offered a chocolate drink to a Turkish Aga at Smyrna (present-day Izmir) in December 1693. Chocolate remained an imported foreign luxury item for the very few until the foundation of the modern Turkish Republic in 1923, when the founder of the Republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, granted the country’s first local chocolate manufacturer, Lion Melba, a 10-year tax exemption in order to incentivize local chocolate production. Next to Lion Melba, other local manufacturers such as Giorgos Elephteropoulos (Elit), Melopoulous (Golden), Ethnopoulos (Royal), Michael Pagiotis (Mabel) and Philip Lenas (Baylan) greatly contributed to the development of chocolate and European-style pastry manufacturing in the early Republican era.

1847: Invention of the first chocolate bar

In 1847, British chocolate maker Joseph Fry first invented the chocolate bar. Until this point, chocolate had always been consumed as a drink, both by the ancient peoples of Central America as well as in Europe. Fry’s invention made chocolate a sweet treat to be eaten as a portable food without need for further preparation. His chocolate bars became an immediate success and quickly made him the world’s leading chocolate manufacturer. The flood gates had been opened: In 1826 in Switzerland, Philippe Suchard invented the first chocolate mixing machine, in 1867 Henri Nestlé invented powdered milk and partnered with the chocolate manufacturer Daniel Peter, who in 1879 combined powdered milk with chocolate to create the very first milk chocolate bar. In the same year, Rudolphe Lindt invented the conching machine that turned the previously grainy chocolate into a deliciously creamy mass. These inventions put the Swiss in the forefront of chocolate production, who started to export their fine chocolates across Europe and the world.

20th century to present: The people’s favorite

For much of its history, chocolate has been an unattainable luxury item for ordinary people, especially for those outside of the developed world. This changed dramatically after World War II and is continuing to change with the spread of global economic development. Today, developed chocolate markets have consumption rates of 8-10 kilos per person. Although Europe and the USA still account for the lion’s share of world chocolate production, growth has been confined in recent years mostly to high-end and “origin” chocolates. In contrast, volume growth in developing chocolate markets has been phenomenal. In Turkey, for example, the market has been growing at 15-20% since 2005, attracting almost all major global producers such as Cadbury, Nestlé, Kraft and Unilever to Turkey. The country’s major local producers have also grown exponentially and started to become significant regional players in their own right. 

Almost all across the globe, people now have access to high quality, real chocolate. Its rising popularity in new markets ensures that it will continue to be a great people’s favorite everywhere.