Chocolate happiness in a cup

Hot chocolate is a hot drink that everyone has good memories of and gets an atmospheric feeling from. The drink consists of melted chocolate, shaved chocolate or cocoa powder with hot milk or water added to it. This hot drink is usually drunk to make the drinker feel happier or warmer. Some studies have also shown that drinking hot chocolate can be healthy for your body because of the antioxidants in cocoa. People often add whipped cream or marshmallows to complete the drink.

But where does hot chocolate come from? The history of hot chocolate begins in Mesoamerica where the Maya first made a chocolate drink 2,000 years ago. The drink was originally served as a bitter liquid mixed with spices or corn puree. By 1400 AD, the cocoa drink they called xocōlātl had become an important part of Aztec culture. The Aztecs believed that Quetzalcoatl, the god of wisdom, had given them cocoa seeds. The seeds were so valuable that they were used as currency.

After the drink was introduced to Europe in the 16th century, it became a popular drink, and has undergone several changes, including, for example, the addition of sugar. Until the 1800s, the hot drink was used by doctors as medicine for some diseases.

In the 20th century during the war, chocolate was essential in the rations of US soldiers. Volunteers from the YMCA built recovery stations near the battlefields during World War I to help and comfort tired soldiers; hot chocolate was the main ingredient of these stations.

Today, hot chocolate is drunk all over the world in many different variations. For instance, in Italy they have the thick cioccolata calda, in Latin America they have the spiced chocolate para mesa and in Spain the chocolate à la taza.

Besides being a delicious drink, hot chocolate also contains caffeine, just like coffee and tea. Only a small amount, though, so you can defintely have a cup late at night before going to sleep.

Besides, the cold variant of the drink has also become wildly popular. For instance, we have the brand Chocomel in our range, which we have in handy take-away packages such as in cans and drinks cartons.

Fun fact

The largest cup of hot chocolate was made on 6 January 2018 by Municipio de Uruapan in Mexico and contained 4,816.6 litres of chocolate milk.