GEORGE NAVA TRUE II
WHENEVER Valentine’s Day arrives, we celebrate the occasion by giving our loved ones flowers and a box of chocolates. But when did that tradition begin and who was the first to come up with the idea of giving tasty treats on that day?
In “How Chocolate Became a Valentine’s Day Staple”, Stephanie Butler of History.com said the idea of giving candies or chocolates on Valentine’s Day was unheard of in the 1840s. Instead, lovers offered roses, cards, and other gifts. All that changed when Richard Cadbury came up with a brilliant marketing strategy.
Richard was one of the sons of John Cadbury, a Quaker who founded the popular confectionery company in 1824. Cadbury started his business by selling tea, coffee, and drinking chocolate in England.
But the high cost of production proved to be a problem. When Richard and his brother George took over the business in 1861 the company was losing money.
Improved taste
To save the business, the brothers decided to focus on chocolate and they improved the quality of their products. They changed the way chocolate drinks were made and produced a better-tasting product.
Since the new technique of making chocolate gave them a lot of cocoa butter, Richard used this to make different varieties of chocolate that customers could eat. In 1861, the company introduced Fancy Boxes, chocolates that were packaged in boxes with nice decorations. Richard later designed heart-shaped chocolate boxes that were introduced in 1868 in time for Valentine’s Day.
Butler said the pretty boxes had a dual purpose. After the chocolates were consumed, people used them to store love letters, locks of hair, and other valuable items. Thanks to Richard’s idea, boxes of chocolate became popular gifts during the Feast of St. Valentine.
Chocolate is big business
Today, chocolate is one of the world’s favorite foods that is enjoyed on holidays like Easter. Christmas, and Halloween. And making it has become a big business.
In 2020, retail sales of this tasty treat reached $98.2 billion worldwide, according to Statistica Research Department. In 2019, the size of the global chocolate market amounted to about $140 billion. Statistica said that figure is expected to exceed $187 billion by 2026.
Where do most chocolate lovers reside? Countries that consume a lot of chocolate are Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, according to Abigail Abesamis Demarest of Insider.com in her article, “8 Unbelievable Facts About the $103 Billion Chocolate Industry.”
How is chocolate made? This comes from the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao seeds have an intense bitter taste and are fermented to develop chocolate’s distinctive flavor. Each fruit or pod contains about 40 cacao beans that are dried and roasted to make cocoa beans. The beans are ground and heated to make chocolate liquor.
Big chocolate harvest
Demarest said the small cacao tree has enough fruit or pods to make one to three pounds of chocolate yearly. The US National Confectioners Association said 400 cocoa beans are needed to make a pound of chocolate or about 10 Hershey’s bars.
Harvesting cacao is not a problem. In 2019 alone, global cacao production was at 4.85 million metric tons. That’s a lot of chocolate! This comes mostly from the Ivory Coast (also known as Côte d’Ivoire or the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire), the world’s largest producer of cacao.
But not everything is sweet about chocolate. There are some bitter truths about it. And chocolate’s history is not so romantic. To show you why go back with me to the early days of chocolate.
In the “History of Chocolate”, History.com editors said chocolate was first used by the Olmecs, the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Its people lived in what is now known as the Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. Ancient Olmec pots and vessels dating to around 1500 B.C. were discovered there that had traces of theobromine, the stimulant found in chocolate and tea.
Chocolate for everyone
Many other Mesoamerican people also drank chocolate. These included the Mayans and Aztecs. History.com said the Mayans used chocolate drinks in celebrations and to finalize important transactions. This drink was available to everyone and was part of every meal.
The Aztecs believed that chocolate was given to them by the gods. Since they couldn’t grow cacao at home, they had to import this luxury item. Because of this, chocolate was enjoyed mostly by the upper class. In Aztec culture, cacao beans were more valuable than gold and these were used to buy food and other goods. They were also used to pay taxes and other tributes.
One famous chocolate lover was Montezuma II, the last Aztec ruler, who believed that the drink was an aphrodisiac. He reportedly drank gallons of the stuff daily for energy and gave cacao beans to members of his military. (On Tuesday: Why did the Aztecs offer their slaves a chocolate drink before they were sacrificed? Find out in my next column. Don’t miss it!)
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National Press Club and Philippine Dental Association awardee George N. True II has written two bestsellers based on his popular column that has been running for almost 40 years. For questions about health, email georgenavatrue@yahoo.com./PN
