Chocolate has been prepared as a drink for nearly all of its history. For example, one vessel found at an Olmec archaeological site on the Gulf Coast of Veracruz, Mexico, dates chocolate’s preparation by pre-Olmec peoples as early as 1750 BC. On the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico, a Mokaya archaeological site provides evidence of cacao beverages dating even earlier, to 1900 BC. The residues and the kind of vessel in which they were found indicate the initial use of cacao was not simply as a beverage, but the white pulp around the cacao beans was likely used as a source of fermentable sugars for an alcoholic drink.
World Chocolate Day is an observance that occurs globally every year on July 7. Celebration of the day includes the consumption of chocolate. It has been stated that 7 July 2015 marks 465 years since chocolate was introduced to Europe.
Chocolate begins with the cacao tree and ends with a time-intensive, laborious production process. It takes roughly 400 cocoa beans to make a single pound of chocolate - and two to four days to make a single chocolate bar. Cacao trees also need at least four years before they start producing beans. No wonder chocolate is a luxury to be savored.
Lovers of all things chocolate should prepare to rejoice.
Source: wikipedia.org