Early history of chocolate

On August 15, 1502 the European  Christopher Columbus was the first to discover cocoa beans and to come in contact with cacao .

The cacao tree was found in Central American rain forests. Cacao is actually a Mayan word meaning "God Food" which is known today as chocolate and the cacao beans were used as currency in Nicaragua and also drunk in the Aztec culture and it was named xcolat by roasting and pounding the seeds of the Cacao tree. Within a few years the first factories of chocolate opened in Spain to dry fermented beans. Chocolate was treasured at that time 10 beans would buy a rabbit and 100 beans would buy a slave. And it was used as currency until the 19th century in some parts of Latin America.     The cocoa powder was a very great idea which was produced in Spain and it got too popular and it was exported to Europe, Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany and England and eating chocolate was first mentioned in England in solid form in the mid 1600’s, then in 1847 chocolate powder was mixed with sugar and milk to be the first milk chocolate drink. The chocolate was considered as healthy food and a cure for fever and cooling the body.