Happy National Chocolate Day! Chocolate seems to be loved by all, even in the smallest amount. Chocolate is the main staple of Halloween treats, Valentines gifts, and just a pick-me-up here and there. So no wonder we love it! But what’s the history of this decadent treat?
Many historians say that chocolate has been a part of our diets for around 2,000 years. However modern research and the Smithsonian say it’s been around longer. The Aztecs were able to be one of the first communities to actually use the cacao bean, but as currency! They later used it in rituals and consumed it.
The Europeans can be credited with actually sweetening chocolate with honey or cane sugar. Chocolate was too bitter for the foreigner’s tastes at first, but once sweetened became a popular drink. They also believed it had nutritious, medicinal, and aphrodisiac properties.
Solid chocolate couldn’t have been created without the help of a Dutch chemist, who in 1828 created powdered chocolate. This discovery leads to the first modern chocolate bar, created by Joseph Fry roughly twenty years later.  Then another 20 years later, Cadbury began selling boxes of chocolate and Nestle started selling milk chocolate. From there, the chocolate we know and love is now typical and the rest is history.
To read more about chocolate’s fascinating history, visit the Smithsonian for even more details. If this has made you crave a bar of chocolate or two, visit BlairCandy.com! There you’ll find classic chocolate bars, nostalgic favorites, and even your favorite chocolate bars, like Snickers in bulk. Happy National Chocolate Day!