What came first, Jesus or chocolate?

Chocolate, not just a word but also an emotion for many. With numerous variants from milk to dark, hard to soft and what not, I have never come across a person who can say s/he never liked chocolate in his or her life. Such is the charm of this masterpiece, created from the nature’s gift of Cocoa.

When was the chocolate first used?

Chocolates, as we know of them today for being an incredible delight to the sweet-teeth, was not always a dessert. First use of chocolates were far more indulging. They were used in fermented beverages and served as alcohol and such uses of chocolate and cocoa date back to 1900-1400 BC.

Cocoa beans were considered extremely valuable and a gift of 'God of Wisdom', and even served as a currency in ancient Aztec civilizations. However, the chocolate got sweet in 16^th century, when sugar was added to it and it found its way from the rich and royals to the commoners. Cocoa beans were first domesticated in the Meso-American region (parts of present day Mexico and Costa Rica).

Nerd note 1 : Ivory Coast (or Côte d'Ivoire) and Ghana are top two countries producing cocoa; main ingredient of chocolates.

Nerd note 2 : Chocolate, for its high calorific values, is used by soldiers as ration in form of energy bars, as it is easy to carry and provides instant energy. One such energy bar created by the US military is called Soldier Fuel.

And as always,

Thanks for reading.

Ayush!!!