World Chocolate Day
While the precise date of the cocoa bean’s arrival from the Americas to Europe is still under discussion, various research has traced it to July 7, 1550. Europe has long celebrated July 7 as its annual Chocolate Day. We’ll defer to the Europeans as, according to the data of the International Cocoa Organization, half of the world’s current chocolate consumption takes place in Europe. While World Chocolate Day is generally considered July 7, the United States and other regions commemorate this magical bean on other days as well.
The history of chocolate
Cultivation of the cocoa bean – the raw material of chocolate – in Mexico and South and Central America dates to at least 1250 BC, according to archaeologists, while archaeological studies of the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in the Ecuador region indicate that the consumption of a cocoa-like food dates to 3300 BC. Other research shows that hot brewed chocolate drinks were consumed for ceremonial and other purposes in Aztec and Mayan societies; the Aztecs also used the valuable cocoa bean as currency. Chocolate was believed to have spiritual, medicinal and energy-boosting properties.
The etymology of chocolate
The scientific name for the cocoa tree is Theobroma cacao; ‘theobroma’ is derived from Greek – theos is ‘god’, while broma is ‘food’. The word ‘chocolate’ originated from ‘cacahuatl (or xocolatl)’, a word from the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs, referring to the bean of the cocoa tree and meaning ‘bitter water’.
Chocolate comes to Europe
Spanish explorers brought cocoa beans – and chocolate – to Spain in the 1500s but the delicious bean didn’t reach France and England until the mid-1600s. In Türkiye, we have Italian adventurer Giovanni Francesco Gemelli Careri to thank for chocolate: Careri, among the first Europeans to travel via cargo ship, brought cocoa beans to Izmir in 1693. He served warm chocolate drinks to his new acquaintances in Türkiye and word of this magical brew quickly reached the Ottoman Palace. In the Ottoman Empire, as in Europe, access to chocolate was limited to the aristocracy and the wealthy: Fortunately for the rest of us, in the early 1900s, one of the world’s largest chocolate manufacturers opened its first store in Istanbul’s Karaköy neighborhood. In 1927, Türkiye’s first chocolate factory was established in Bomonti, Istanbul, followed by another chocolate factory in Ordu. In 1992, the Turkish Standards Institute set the country’s chocolate standards: bitter, milky, white, plain, flavored and filled.
Worth the trip: The world’s top chocolate shops
Now that we’ve touched on the history and etymology of chocolate, let’s visit the world’s finest chocolate shops. If you are in these cities, consider adding these addresses to your route!
- Soma Chocolate, Toronto (Canada)
- Paul A. Young, London (UK)
- Sprüngli, Zurich (Switzerland)
- Roselen Chocolatier, Lima (Peru)
- Mary, Brussels (Belgium)
To note: Chocolate facts
- The cocoa tree thrives in slightly elevated areas (between 30 and 300 meters above sea level) and at temperatures ranging between 20 °C and 28 °C. It is considered a tropical plant and is rather delicate.
- According to Euromonitor, the highest annual per capita expenditures on chocolate are in Switzerland.
- Milk chocolate is consistently ranked as the most popular chocolate variety in the world.
- In Israel and Iran, more than 50% of the chocolate consumed is bitter chocolate. In the UK, consumption of bitter chocolate is rapidly increasing – a trend that can be attributed to the fact that dark chocolate contains less sugar.
References:
National Geographic
Necmiye Uçansoy, HT Gastro
The Guardian
Travel and Leisure
