In the past, chocolates were sometimes presented as a token of one’s affection or passion. Ancient Aztecs began the custom of giving chocolate as a gift by serving their warriors, monarchs, and explorers a chocolate drink made from water, spices, and ground cacao beans called Xocolatl. Cacao beans were more highly prized than gold by the Aztecs, who saw them as a divine gift that should be shared among all members of society. About a decade ago, traditional mithai, or sweets, were the only acceptable food gifts to give in India. However, the Indian population’s newfound taste for luxury has gradually reshaped the country’s gift market. Chocolate has been a popular present for many events due to its reliability, opulence, deliciousness, and presentational qualities.

Why Chocolates Make the Best Gift for Any Occasion

In India, giving chocolate as a gift is quickly becoming a custom that not only replaces but also enhances other types of presents. Chocolate, a confection and beverage ingredient derived from cocoa beans, is also used to flavor and coat a wide variety of baked goods. The carbohydrate content makes it a great choice for a quick energy boost, and the trace levels of the stimulating alkaloids theobromine and caffeine add to this effect.

History of chocolate

More than three thousand years ago, the Maya, Toltec, and Aztecs grew cacao trees for their fruit, the cocoa bean, which they used to make a drink (sometimes as a ceremonial drink) and to trade for goods. Mayans buried important people with bowls of chocolate and revered the cacao tree as a sacred plant (along with other items deemed useful in the afterlife). The Maya script was deciphered in large part due to the discovery of the (Olmec-derived) word ka-ka-w (“cacao”) engraved on the containers.

No one knows when or why Spain introduced chocolate to European cuisine, but they were the first. Although his introduction of cocoa beans to Spain on his fourth voyage in 1502 received little attention at the time, it is known that Columbus brought some with him. Many people believe (although there appears to be no evidence) that the Spanish adventurer Hernán Cortés was introduced to the bitter cocoa-bean drink in Spain by Montezuma II, the Aztec king of Mexico, around 1519. The Kekchi Mayan peoplKekchiGuatemala likely brought chocolate to the court of Prince Philip in Spain for the first time in 1544 when they visited. However, the first documented shipment of cocoa beans to arrive in Spain from Veracruz, Mexico, did not do so until 1585. Chocolate, sweetened and flavored with cinnamon and vanilla, became a favorite hot beverage in the Spanish court. It took a long time for chocolate to be introduced to countries like France, England, and the rest of the world.

A Frenchman founded a shop in London selling the solid chocolate needed to make the drink in 1657, and customers paid anywhere from 10 to 15 shillings for a pound of it. Since only the wealthy could afford it, trendy chocolate houses — some of which became illustrious private clubs — sprang up in London, Amsterdam, and other European towns. White’s, which Francis White started in 1693 as White’s Chocolate House, and Cocoa-Tree, which debuted in 1698 as the Cocoa-Tree Club, were two of numerous chocolate houses in London utilized as political party meeting places and high-stakes gambling venues. About 1700, the English added milk to chocolate, making it better. High import charges on the raw cocoa bean delayed chocolate’s rise to popularity in Britain until the middle of the nineteenth century, when they were dropped to a standard amount of one penny per pound.

Meanwhile, chocolate manufacturing went global and became increasingly sophisticated. In 1765, New England ship captains brought back cocoa beans from the West Indies and began producing chocolate in the American colonies. This manufacturing began in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The first mill was owned by John Hanan, an Irish immigrant who received financing from James Baker. To grind the beans, water power was used. In 1828, a Dutchman named C.J. van Houten developed a method for extracting cocoa powder from roasted and ground cocoa beans by squeezing off most of the cocoa butter. Sweet (eating) chocolate, the foundation of most chocolate confectionery, was created in 1847 when the English company Fry & Sons blended cocoa butter, chocolates liquor, and sugar. In 1876, Daniel Peter of Switzerland added dried milk to form milk chocolate. Flavored, solid, and coated chocolate items mushroomed soon after.