World Chocolate Day

Some like it dark and bitter, others smooth and sweet, but no matter what your flavour preference this World Chocolate Day, on July 7, join us in taking a bite. The cacao bean, which is responsible for that unmistakably rich flavour we know and love so well, is native to Mexico as well as South- and Central America but has been transplanted into the U.S. and some European countries to match the high consumer demand for this delicacy. Whether it’s used to coat other sweets and nuts, melted over fruit, or shaven over a gourmet dessert, chocolate always hits the spot. Around 1 billion people from around the world eat chocolates every day. Besides its great taste, it has tons of health benefits. Although chocolates are recognized as fattening, amazingly they can also aid weight loss and help maintain weight if consumed moderately.

Chocolate comes from the seed of the Theobroma Cacao tree. Cacao grows in Mexico, Central America, and Northern South America, where it has been cultivated for at least three millennia. However, Africa holds 70% of the growing cacao trees in the world today. The earliest known observation of using cacao seeds is from around 1100 BC. The tree seeds have a very serious, bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavour.

In order to craft a bar of chocolate, seeds from a cacao tree are covered with banana leaves and left to ferment, at which point they are called cocoa beans. Once the cocoa beans have arrived at their processing plant, they are roasted slowly at a low temperature. Then it’s time to separate the shells from the nibs so that the nibs can be ground to a fine powder called cocoa liquor, which is just pure chocolate in rough form. The cocoa mass is often liquified and molded with or without other ingredients. This is the state where you get chocolate liquor. The chocolate liquor then gets processed into two components – cocoa butter and cocoa solids.

The two products most vital to chocolate production come from this cocoa liquor paste. Cocoa powder is produced and packed for purchase at grocery shops so that we can bake the beloved roasted taste profile into our cakes and biscuits, while cocoa butter is produced so that manufacturers can use it as an ingredient in their chocolate bars.

A lot of research into this edible treasure has found that it is a powerful source of antioxidants, plus it helps to improve blood flow, lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of heart disease. It also increases serotonin and dopamine levels, which helps to boost mood. Many people are advised to eat more dark chocolate as it contains healthier benefits. Tons of treats are made from chocolate – hot chocolate milk, chocolate milk, chocolate cake and brownies, chocolate candy bars, and a lot more we enjoy today.

Dark chocolate, which tastes most like its mother seed, is simply a mixture of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, and sugar. Milk chocolate includes those three ingredients plus a smattering of milk powder. At this point, chocolatiers can add things like nuts, salts, and syrups to elevate the flavour profile. Once cooled, the mixtures harden into the shapes of their respective molds, are wrapped in paper, and shipped to our favourite shops.