Chocolate has stimulated our taste buds for centuries, from the spicy drink of the Mayas and the Aztecs to the favourite sweet chocolate the we know at present.
Chocolate most commonly comes in dark, milk, and white varieties, with cocoa solids contributing to the brown coloration. Chocolate is a processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC. The majority of the Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, including the Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as xocolātl, a Nahuatl word meaning "bitter water".The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste, and must be fermented to develop the flavour. After fermentation, the beans are dried, then cleaned, and then roasted, and the shell is removed to produce cacao nibs.
