Hello, my name is Holly Micklem. I am doing my blog on the geography of chocolate.

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The History of Chocolate

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The History of Chocolate Chocolate is definitely something that is part of daily life. Many of us might say we can not live without chocolate. However how many of us have actually stopped and thought about where this wonderful creation began. Historians have estimated that chocolate has been around for about 2,000 years. However many scientists believe it may even date back to 1400BC.  The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica which was a region in the Americas. The cacao tree is native in Mesoamerica and cacao was used extensively. The Mesoamericans first cultivated the cacao plants. They roasted and ground the beans into a paste which they mixed with water, vanilla, honey, chilli peppers and other spices to brew a frothy chocolate drink that was quite bitter. The Myan people and the Aztecs both believed the cacao bean had divine or magical properties and used it in sacred rituals. The cacao beans even became a form of currency in the Aztec Empire. Records from the Spani
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The Make up of Chocolate

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The Make up of Chocolate As much as I would like it to, chocolate does not simply come ready to eat off a tree. Most people do not know about the complex procedures required to make chocolate. First of all, let's get the terminology right. According to Smithsonian.com 'most experts these days use the term 'cacao' to refer to the plant or it's beans before processing while the term 'chocolate' refers to anything made from the beans. 'Cocoa' generally refers to chocolate in powdered form.' Cacao trees grow in hot tropical areas within 20 degrees of latitude from the Equator. Harvest occurs over several months and in many countries cacao can be harvested all year round. Cacao beans grow in pods that sprout off the tree. These pods are green and turn yellow when ripe. They have to be harvested by hand using machetes and hooked blades mounted on a long poles, as machines would damage the trees. It can take approximately 3 years for a caca
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