For many years, chocolate remained a secret of the Americas as the Mayan and Aztec cultures enjoyed the fruits of the cocoa tree and supped away on cups of frothy chilli chocolate. However, with the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors, life for these civilisations became a little more fraught. As cities were pillaged for their riches, the cocoa bean was discovered and taken on a voyage to Europe where it was introduced to high society.
The secrets of the cocoa bean and the processing of chocolate were quickly learnt and the fame of this wonderful new delicacy swiftly spread throughout Spain. It was so popular that it became difficult to keep up with the demand, however, incredibly, cocoa remained largely a Spanish delicacy for almost 100 years, as the Spanish managed to keep one of the world’s best-kept secrets and enjoy chocolate all to themselves. They also realised that by adding sugar to the ground cocoa, you could create a sweet drink. This was far more appealing to people than the bitter brew and it made chocolate one of the most sought-after and trends beverages of the age. Once again though, it was only the rich and famous who could afford it and the common folk missed out on yet another treat.
Eventually the secret got out and soon the chocolate buzz had spread all over Europe. As demand grew, plantations were created in the colonies and cocoa trees were planted and harvested on a massive scale to satisfy the sweet tooth of the European.