A Brief History of Chocolate

The origins of modern chocolate products date back 2000 years. Cocoa (technically called Theobroma cacao) was first discovered in the tropical rainforests of the Americas. Here the ancient cultures of Mexico and Central America, including the Aztecs and Mayans, mixed ground cocoa seeds with various herbs and spices to make what is believed to be the original chocolate drink. Cocoa appears to have played a major role in society for these civilizations – so much so that the Mayans considered cocoa to be the food of the gods.

Cocoa remained a secret until, in the early 15th Century, Christopher Columbus is said to have brought some back to Spain following his fourth visit to the ‘New World’ of the Americas. This marked the start of the development of chocolate products as we now know them. Initially progress was slow, as gradually more countries began using the ingredient to make drinks that only the upper classes could afford.

Eventually word spread and in 1828 Coenraad van Houten, a Dutchman, invented the cocoa press which would transform the use of cocoa around the world. This machine separated cocoa powder from cocoa butter – the two constituent parts of the cocoa beans - improving the quality of drinking chocolate as well as making possible the invention of the first chocolate bar. Who was first to achieve this is still argued about today, however it would appear to have been Dr.Joseph Fry in 1846. Products made using cocoa were no longer limited to the rich.

Daniel Peter in Switzerland added to the delight of chocolate lovers by developing milk chocolate in 1875 by adding condensed milk from Henri Nestles to his chocolate.

Although the origins of cocoa appear to be in the Americas, the majority of modern day cocoa comes from Africa, where several countries have made it one of their primary exports. In fact, the Ivory Coast and Ghana alone produce more than half of the world’s cocoa.

Making Chocolate Bars and Drinks

In order to make chocolate products, cocoa beans from around the world are delivered to factories for processing. This process begins with the beans being roasted in order to develop the colour and flavours of the cocoa. After roasting the beans are crushed to release the internal "nib" from the shells and are then ground into a thick brown liquid called cocoa mass. This cocoa mass is then heavily pressed until the cocoa butter is squeezed out and separated from the cocoa powder.

The cocoa powder can then be used in chocolate drinks including instant hot chocolate, drinking chocolate, milkshakes or just pure cocoa powder. Instant hot chocolate contain milk powder and so can be made with hot water – this is why they are known as ‘instant’. Drinking chocolate is more traditional and is only made by adding hot milk to cocoa and sugar. There are strict rules that determine whether a product can be called ‘drinking chocolate’ or not.

In our factory we blend these dried ingredients together to make chocolate powders that we then pack into jars, tubs or sachets ready for our customers to enjoy.

To make milk and dark eating chocolate the cocoa butter and cocoa mass is combined in varying proportions. For milk chocolate, sugar and milk is added. To make dark (also known as ‘plain’) chocolate only sugar is added. White chocolate is unique in that it contains no cocoa mass (hence it is not a shade of brown) and contains only cocoa butter with sugar and milk.

Other ingredients you will see in our chocolate bars are soya lecithin and natural vanilla. Soya lecithin is added as an emulsifier to help the processing of the chocolate and is not genetically modified. The natural vanilla helps create our distinct taste.

Whichever type of chocolate is being made, the mixture is then stirred continuously over several days in a process called conching which makes the finished chocolate smooth to eat. In order to then mould the chocolate into bars (or whatever shape required) it must go through a process called ‘tempering’. This is a traditional skill of chocolatiers done by varying the temperature of melted chocolate. This manipulates the molecular structure of the chocolate so that when it has been deposited into the moulds and is cooled properly it can be easily removed and has a shiny appearance.

Once the bars have been moulded they are transferred to our packing lines where we wrap them and put them into boxes ready to be shipped to our customers.

Having always maintained a strong sense of community, today’s global marketplace means that we are able to extend this to the producers and growers of our raw materials such as cocoa and sugar. A key part of this is by using Fairtrade ingredients. Caley’s have been making Fairtrade products since 2004 and are committed to making all of their products Fairtrade by June 2008. We also worked with Norwich Union to make Norwich a Fairtrade City.

Caley’s range of Fairtrade products all carry the Fairtrade mark. This mark is an independent consumer label which appears on products as an independent guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal.

For a product to display the FAIRTRADE Mark it must meet international Fairtrade standards. These standards are set by the international certification body Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO).

Producer organisations that supply Fairtrade products are inspected and certified by FLO. They receive a minimum price that covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects.

For more information about the Fairtrade Foundation please follow this link