Cocoa and Chocolate: Their History from Plantation to Consumer

In the last chapter I gave a brief account of the cultivation of cacao. I did not deal with forking, spraying, cutlassing, weeding, and so forth, as it would lead us too far int...

When the English Commander, Thomas Candish, coming into the Haven Guatulco, burnt two hundred thousand tun of cacao, it proved no small loss to all New Spain, the provinces Guat...

How seldom do we think, when we drink a cup of cocoa or eat some morsels of chocolate, that our liking for these delicacies has set minds and bodies at work all the world over!...

The Kernels that come to us from the Coast of _Caraqua_, are more oily, and less bitter, than those that come from the _French_ Islands, and in _France_ and _Spain_ they prefer...

Before the Spaniards made themselves Masters of Mexico, no other drink was esteem'd but that of cocoa; none caring for wine, notwithstanding the soil produces vines everywhere i...

The Indians, from whom we borrow it, are not very nice in doing it; they roast the kernels in earthen pots, then free them from their skins, and afterwards crush and grind them...

Did time and space allow, there is much to be told on the romantic side of chocolate, of its divine origin, of the bloody wars and brave exploits of the Spaniards who conquered...

Since the great improvements of the steam engine, it is astonishing to what a variety of manufactures this useful machine has been applied: yet it does not a little excite our s...

It is the best and most natural _Pomatum_ for Ladies to _clear_ and _plump_ the Skin when it is _dry, rough_, or _shrivel'd_, without making it appear either _fat_ or _shining_....

Cacao Pods Old Drawing of an American Indian, with Chocolate Whisk, etc. Native American Indians Roasting the Beans, etc. Ancient Mexican Drinking Cups Cacao Tree, with Pods and...

The gross adulteration of cocoa is now a thing of the past, and most of the cocoa sold conforms with this definition. Statements, however, get copied from book to book, and henc...