Find out all about the history of chocolate and the secrets of chocolate making:
Where does chocolate come from?
Who discovered it?
Where do cocoa trees grow?
Who grows cocoa trees and who makes chocolate?
How do you make chocolate?
What are the health benefits of dark chocolate?
Why it is so popular?
What is the dark side of chocolate?
How can we stop chocolate from leaving a bitter after-taste?
How do you make the most delicious chocolate brownies?
FUN FACTS
Who discovered chocolate?
The story of chocolate begins with cocoa trees that grew wild in the tropical rainforests of the Amazon basin and other areas in Central and South America for thousands of years. The Maya Indians and the Aztecs recognised the value of cocoa beans - both as an ingredient for their special 'chocolate' drink and as currency - for hundreds of years before cocoa was brought to Europe.
Christopher Columbus is said to have brought the first cocoa beans back to Europe from his fourth visit to the 'New World' between 1502 and 1504. However far more exciting treasures on board his galleons meant the humble cocoa beans were ignored.
The story goes that English and Dutch sailors didn't recognize the cocoa beans they found on the Spanish 'treasure' ships they captured as the Spanish returned from 'New World'. The precious beans were thrown overboard by the angry English and Dutch crews, reputed to have thought the beans were sheep droppings.
THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE
If you can’t imagine life without chocolate, you’re lucky you weren’t born before the 16th century. Until then, chocolate only existed as a bitter, foamy drink in Mesoamerica. So how did we get from a bitter beverage to the chocolate bars of today? Deanna Pucciarelli traces the fascinating and often cruel history of chocolate.
LISTEN AND TAKE NOTES
> Draw a timeline with the dates given in the video and the key events that correspond
1900 BC 1500 BC 1519 1600s 1828 1875 1900s 2015
BOOST YOUR LISTENING SKILLS
1) Listen carefully to the video without subtitles and fill in the blanks, use the illustrations to understand the story
2) Listen and pause, listen and pause to write down the answers
3) Check your answers with the script = self-correction further down the page
If you can’t imagine life without chocolate, you’re _____________ you weren’t born before the 16th century. Until then, chocolate only existed in Mesoamerica in a form quite different from what we know.
As far back as 1900 BCE, the people of that region had learned to prepare the _____________ of the native cacao tree. The earliest records tell us the beans were _____________ and mixed with cornmeal and chili peppers to create a _____________ - not a relaxing cup of hot cocoa, but a bitter, invigorating concoction frothing with _____________. And if you thought we make a big deal about chocolate today, the Mesoamericans had us beat.
They believed that cacao was a heavenly _____________ gifted to humans by a feathered serpent _____________, known to the Maya as Kukulkan and to the Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl.
Aztecs used cacao beans as _____________ and drank chocolate at royal _____________, gave it to soldiers as a _____________ for success in battle, and used it in _____________.
The first transatlantic chocolate _____________ occurred in 1519 when Hernán Cortés visited the court of Moctezuma at Tenochtitlan. As recorded by Cortés’s lieutenant, the _____________ had fifty jugs of the drink brought out and poured into _____________ cups.
When the _____________ returned with shipments of the strange new bean, missionaries' salacious accounts of native customs gave it a reputation as an _____________. At first, its bitter _____________ made it suitable as a _____________ for ailments, like upset stomachs, but sweetening it with honey, sugar, or vanilla quickly made chocolate a popular _____________ in the Spanish court. And soon, no aristocratic home was complete without dedicated chocolate _____________.
The fashionable drink was difficult and _____________ _____________ to produce on a large scale. That involved using plantations and imported _____________ _____________ in the Caribbean and on islands off the coast of Africa.
The _____________ of chocolate would change forever in 1828 with the introduction of the cocoa press by Coenraad van Houten of _____________. Van Houten’s _______________ could separate the cocoa’s natural fat, or cocoa _____________. This left a _____________ that could be mixed into a drinkable solution or recombined with the cocoa butter to create the _____________ chocolate we know today. Not long after, a Swiss chocolatier named Daniel Peter added powdered milk to the mix, thus _____________ milk chocolate.
By the 20th century, chocolate was no longer an _____________ luxury but had become a _____________ for the public. Meeting the massive _____________ required more cultivation of cocoa, which can only _____________ near the equator. Now, instead of African slaves being _____________ to South American cocoa plantations, cocoa production itself would _____________ to West Africa with Cote d’Ivoire providing two-fifths of the world’s cocoa as of 2015.
Yet along with the _____________ of the industry, there have been horrific abuses of human _____________. Many of the _____________ throughout West Africa, which _____________ Western companies, use slave and child labor, with an estimation of more than 2 million _____________ affected.
This is a complex problem that persists despite efforts from major chocolate _____________ to partner with African nations to _____________ child and indentured labor practices. Today, chocolate has established itself in the _____________ of our modern _____________. Due to its colonial association with native cultures, combined with the power of _____________, chocolate retains an aura of something sensual, decadent, and _____________.
Yet knowing more about its fascinating and often cruel _____________, as well as its production today, tells us where these _____________ originate and what they _____________. So as you _____________ your next bar of chocolate, take a moment to consider that not everything about chocolate is _____________.
Is chocolate good for your health?
DIG DEEPER
Read this article on child labor published in September 2015 by The National Geographic Magazine: The Numbers Behind Child Labor
Case study: Children and Cocoa in Ghana and Ivory Coast
Ghana and the Ivory Coast are low-wage countries, with an average daily income below a half dollar. There, many cocoa farmers earn so little they can’t afford to pay adult workers. Instead, they rely on poorly paid or unpaid children, some of whom are brought in by traffickers from neighboring countries.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Watch the trailer for the documentary called The Dark Side of Chocolate
How can we stop chocolate from leaving a bitter after-taste?
What can we do to improve cocoa farmers' lives?
Watch this video from The Fair Trade Foundation and find out more about how the chocolate bars you eat are produced.
Use subtitles in English > Listen, pause and take notes > create a language card.
Read this blog from The Fair Trade Foundation with 10 facts about Fairtrade chocolate
Here's another article you may be interested in: Is the future of chocolate at risk?
STAND FOR FAIRNESS
What kind of power do consumers have?
With great power come great responsibilities.
2 billion people in the world live on less than $2 a day. But how can we fight global poverty? Through fair trade! The moment we sip our coffee in the morning, we are participating in the global economy. Consumers rule the world. Through supply & demand, consumers decide exactly what is for sale by businesses. But with great power comes great responsibility. Consumers can demand how products are made, too. Everyday purchases should be an extension of our values. Empower producers through fair trade. Educate, support, & shop! Consumerism doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Stand for fairness. Join the movement.
Watch this TED talk on Fair Trade by Benjamin Conard
Read this other article from the National Geographic on the future of chocolate entitled Can GMOs Save Chocolate?
HOW DO YOU MAKE CHOCOLATE?
9 out of 10 people like chocolate and the other person is lying
Watch the TV show How Do They Do It? on Discovery Kids
See the entire process of chocolate making, all the way from plant to shop, with full explanations of every step of the process.
Can you explain the 10 key steps in chocolate making in English?
Watch the video with subtitles in English, take notes. You can also visit this website Sweet Matter Physicist for help: Tree to Bar Basics: How is chocolate made?
Use the PASSIVE VOICE
Write 2 sentences for each picture
example:
1) Cacoa trees are grown around the equator, in countries where it doesn't get cold.
Cocoa trees were planted in Indonesia during the Spanish colonial period in the 17th century.
N.B. Most of the world’s cocoa is grown in a narrow belt of around 20 degrees either side of the equator, as it offers the perfect conditions for growing cocoa. The cocoa tree needs high temperatures, humid conditions and plenty of rainfall to grow successfully.
FOR FUN
Click on the picture to go to The British Council website for Kids. Great video for rhythm!
Well, time to cook!
Make the most delicious chocolate brownies with the world-famous British chef Jamie Oliver
Enjoy!
What's your favourite chocolate treat?
Send me the recipe =D You can also create a video like Jamie Oliver or a slideshow for instagram. Remember to use Fair Trade chocolate if you can.
--------------------------------------------------
Self-correction
Here's the script to the TED-Ed video on The History of Chocolate by Deanna Pucciarelli
If you can’t imagine life without chocolate, you’re lucky you weren’t born before the 16th century. Until then, chocolate only existed in Mesoamerica in a form quite different from what we know.
As far back as 1900 BCE, the people of that region had learned to prepare the beans of the native cacao tree. The earliest records tell us the beans were ground and mixed with cornmeal and chili peppers to create a drink - not a relaxing cup of hot cocoa, but a bitter, invigorating concoction frothing with foam.
And if you thought we make a big deal about chocolate today, the Mesoamericans had us beat. They believed that cacao was a heavenly food gifted to humans by a feathered serpent god, known to the Maya as Kukulkan and to the Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl. Aztecs used cacao beans as currency and drank chocolate at royal feasts, gave it to soldiers as a reward for success in battle, and used it in rituals.
The first transatlantic chocolate encounter occurred in 1519 when Hernán Cortés (portrait on the left) visited the court of Moctezuma at Tenochtitlan. As recorded by Cortés’s lieutenant, the king had 50 jugs of the drink brought out and poured into golden cups.
When the colonists returned with shipments of the strange new bean, missionaries' salacious accounts of native customs gave it a reputation as an aphrodisiac. At first, its bitter taste made it suitable as a medicine for ailments, like upset stomachs, but sweetening it with honey, sugar, or vanilla quickly made chocolate a popular delicacy in the Spanish court. And soon, no aristocratic home was complete without dedicated chocolate ware (painting below).
The fashionable drink was difficult and time consuming to produce on a large scale. That involved using plantations and imported slave labor in the Caribbean and on islands off the coast of Africa. The world of chocolate would change forever in 1828 with the introduction of the cocoa press by Coenraad van Houten of Amsterdam. Van Houten’s invention could separate the cocoa’s natural fat, or cocoa butter. This left a powder that could be mixed into a drinkable solution or recombined with the cocoa butter to create the solid chocolate we know today .Not long after, a Swiss chocolatier named Daniel Peter added powdered milk to the mix, thus inventing milk chocolate.
By the 20th century, chocolate was no longer an elite luxury but had become a treat for the public. Meeting the massive demand required more cultivation of cocoa, which can only grow near the equator. Now, instead of African slaves being shipped to South American cocoa plantations, cocoa production itself would shift to West Africa with Cote d’Ivoire providing two-fifths of the world’s cocoa as of 2015. Yet along with the growth of the industry, there have been horrific abuses of human rights. Many of the plantations throughout West Africa, which supply Western companies, use slave and child labor, with an estimation of more than 2 million children affected. This is a complex problem that persists despite efforts from major chocolate companies to partner with African nations to reduce child and indentured labor practices.
Today, chocolate has established itself in the rituals of our modern culture. Due to its colonial association with native cultures, combined with the power of advertising, chocolate retains an aura of something sensual, decadent, and forbidden. Yet knowing more about its fascinating and often cruel history, as well as its production today, tells us where these associations originate and what they hide. So as you unwrap your next bar of chocolate, take a moment to consider that not everything about chocolate is sweet.
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