Key insights

• 🍫 Early Mesoamerican chocolate was a bitter drink made from cacao beans, cornmeal, and chili peppers.
• 🏛️ Mesoamericans revered chocolate as a divine gift, using it as currency, in rituals, and at royal feasts.
• 💊 Chocolate was initially used as medicine but became popular as a delicacy in the Spanish court, with aristocratic homes having dedicated chocolate ware.
• 🔄 The invention of the cocoa press in 1828 revolutionized the chocolate industry by enabling mass production.
• 🥛 The invention of milk chocolate made chocolate popular among the public, and cocoa production shifted to West Africa, leading to human rights abuses.
• 🚸 More than 2 million children are affected by slave and child labor in the supply chain of Western chocolate companies.
• 🏴‍☠️ Chocolate's colonial associations and modern advertising create an image of something sensual and forbidden, but its history and current production reveal a dark reality.
• ⚖️ Efforts have been made by major chocolate companies to reduce child and indentured labor practices in partnership with African nations.

Q&A

• What are the current issues in the chocolate industry, and how have major companies responded?

  More than 2 million children are affected by slave and child labor in the supply chain of Western chocolate companies. Efforts have been made by major chocolate companies to reduce child and indentured labor practices in partnership with African nations, but darker realities and associations persist.

• What impact did the invention of milk chocolate have, and where did cocoa production shift to?

  The invention of milk chocolate made chocolate accessible to the public. Cocoa production shifted to West Africa, particularly Cote d'Ivoire, which unfortunately led to significant human rights abuses in the cocoa industry.

• How did the invention of the cocoa press revolutionize the chocolate industry?

  The invention of the cocoa press in 1828, separated cocoa butter from cocoa, enabling mass production of chocolate and allowing the creation of modern solid chocolate.

• What role did chocolate play in the Spanish court, and how was it initially used?

  Chocolate was initially used as medicine for ailments like upset stomachs. Missionaries portrayed it as an aphrodisiac based on native customs. Sweetening it with honey, sugar, or vanilla made chocolate a popular delicacy in the Spanish court.

• How did Mesoamericans view chocolate, and how was it used?

  Mesoamericans considered cacao a heavenly food bestowed by a feathered serpent god. Cacao beans were used as currency and for rewarding soldiers. Chocolate was consumed at royal feasts and used in rituals.

• When was chocolate first known, and how was it made in Early Mesoamerica?

  Chocolate was not known before the 16th century. Early Mesoamerican chocolate was a bitter drink made from cacao beans, cornmeal, and chili peppers.

• 00:07 Chocolate as we know it today didn't exist before the 16th century. Early Mesoamerican chocolate was a bitter drink made from cacao beans, cornmeal, and chili peppers.
• 00:44 Mesoamericans revered chocolate as a divine gift, using it as currency, in rituals, and at royal feasts. The first transatlantic chocolate encounter happened in 1519.
• 01:23 Chocolate was initially used as medicine but became popular as a delicacy in the Spanish court, with aristocratic homes having dedicated chocolate ware.
• 02:01 The invention of the cocoa press in 1828 revolutionized the chocolate industry by enabling the mass production of chocolate. It separated cocoa butter from cocoa, allowing the creation of modern chocolate.
• 02:42 The invention of milk chocolate made chocolate popular among the public. Cocoa production shifted to West Africa, particularly Cote d'Ivoire, leading to human rights abuses.
• 03:22 Despite efforts to reduce child and indentured labor, more than 2 million children are affected by slave labor in the supply chain of Western chocolate companies. Chocolate's colonial associations and modern advertising create a sensual and forbidden image, but its history and current production reveal a dark reality.