World Chocolate Day is celebrated on July 7 every year. It is said that on this day chocolate was introduced to Europe in the 1550s.
In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes was said to be served a chocolate-based drink called ‘Xocolatl’ by Aztec emperor Montezuma. The explorer took the drink back with him to Spain and added vanilla, sugar and cinnamon to improve the taste. The drink gained popularity in England & France in 1600s after the Spanish invasion.
Chocolate was initially consumed only in drink form and was quite bitter to taste. A drink called ‘Chilate’ was made out of it, once mixed with spices and corn puree.
It is said that British confectioners figured out how to add sugar and cocoa butter to create a malleable paste that could then be packaged as eating chocolate.
World Chocolate Day has been celebrated globally on the July 7 since 2009. Also, cocoa production is the major source of livelihood for around 40 to 50 million farmers, rural workers around the world.
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