Holiday Chocolate Gift Ideas

History on The Love of Chocolate

Dark chocolate, chocolate drops, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate coins – such lovely treats to the palate! All of them are certainly chocolates. These mouth watering treats come in various shapes, sizes, flavors and the entire world is in love with it. How we love these goodies, but do you have any idea who presented them to us?

Some 3,000 years ago, the Aztecs and the Mayans harvested cocoa pods from cacao trees, fermented them, and then prepared a bitter drink called xocoati, meaning “bitter water”. Some of them also added vanilla or maize to dissolve the strong flavor. They drank the xocoati during religious ceremonies. In the year 1502, world conqueror Christopher Columbus brought cocoa beans back to Spain but it was only in 1519 that men took notice of chocolate. The Spanish conquistador, Herman Cortez, sampled the bitter drink from Aztec in the New World, which brought back the recipe to Spain. Princess Maria Therese married Louis the XIV of France, took the unique beverage back with her to Paris and, by the year 1657, a London shop was already selling solid chocolates.

How about the Belgian chocolate? Do you remember those times when you used to stare at those exquisitely crafted sea shell-looking brown candies mom and dad would bring home to you on Saturday evenings? This shell like structure is what makes this chocolate unique. A chocolate shell filled with soft milk chocolate that melts inside a person’s mouth is what we call the praline. The word was given to suit the shape of the shells which were handcrafted to reach near. These chocolates came to be known as ballotin de praline.

Today in Belgium, makers of this candy still create the pralines by hand. There are more than 170 thousand tons of chocolates that are being manufactured in Belgium each year. And quite many chocolate events still take place in the country each year. The great news is, you can even taste one of these candies for free and observe how it is being manufactured. Careful selection of the cocoa beans is the most important step in making these Belgian treats. As the legend goes, the seeds are picked manually.

The Belgian chocolate industry is valued at more than a billion dollar and the products are sold all over the world. Some prefer chocolate bars while others prefer the chocolate powder. Whatever the preference, Belgium always has some, if not the best chocolates you’ll ever find in the world.

If you’re thinking of gifts for somebody special, how about chocolate truffles or personalized chocolate bars? Could any gift be sweeter?

If you’re thinking of gifts for somebody special, how about giving different chocolate favors or a personalized chocolate gift? Could any gift be sweeter?