A Short History of Chocolates

What comes to mind when you hear the word chocolate?

Do you think about candies and desserts? Do you picture hot drinks?

Those may be the ways we consume chocolate now, but for most of history, chocolate came in many different forms.

Chocolate has a very long history, and it helps to know how it was used in the past. Here is a short summary of the history of chocolate:

• Anthropologists found residues of cacao, which could be dated back to 1400 BC.
• The Mayans and the Aztecs used chocolate in their religious ceremonies as early as the 12th century.
• The Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortès recognized the value of cacao and started cultivating it and sent it back to Europe.
• Chocolate started to spread from Spain to the rest of Europe.
• The processing of cocoa was improved with the developments of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century.
• In the 19th century, food producers in countries like Switzerland and Germany started working with chocolate.
• Early in the 19th century, filled chocolates were introduced.
• Chocolate bars were introduced in the 1920s, and they eventually became classics for confectionary brands such as ROYCE' Chocolate from Hokkaido, Japan.
• ROYCE’ Chocolate was founded in 1983. Since then, ROYCE’ has been active in letting the world know How Japan Does Chocolate.                                                

Today, people around the world have become obsessed with chocolate and consume chocolate in many different ways.

That was a short summary of the history of chocolate. Hopefully, that made you hungry for some sweets. Don’t hold yourself back and make sure that as you enjoy your favorite chocolate, you also appreciate its long history.

ROYCE' Chocolate has boutiques across the US. Our official US website, roycechocolate.com, also accommodates online orders and delivers within the continental US.