We all love a hot chocolate ... but what's the history behind this popular beverage? 

Drinking hot chocolate can be traced back to 500 BC in Mexico during the Mayan times although it was a very different drink to the one we know today. Normally chilli was added to the beverage  - which is something (most of us) wouldn't do today! Back in the Aztec times drinking chocolate was actually drunk cold – but the English unaware of the tradition drank it hot. The first know English recipe for hot chocolate advised ‘being cold it may do harm’ and the hotter it is drunke, the better it is’. The Aztecs actually believed that the cocoa tree was of divine origin - a bridge between heaven and earth so in ceremonies like marriage they drank a cup of chocolate. It was also believed that by drinking chocolate they gained some of Quetzalcoatl's (god of learning and of the wind) wisdom.

Drinking hot chocolate only became popular in the late 1600’s in England after it was bought over most likely from Spain as they had bought it over from their South American colonies.

Aztecs (photo credit - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oxford-university-is-older-than-the-aztecs-1529607/)

When drinking chocolate became popular it was a craze in big cities like London and Paris and even Bath with many chocolate houses opening. The Cocoa-Tree in St James street London and Mrs Whites chocolate house on Chesterfield street are famous examples of this.

Although most attended the chocolate houses for the company rather than the drinking chocolate itself. For example the Cocoa tree was patronized by the Tory party and had many eminent members like Jonathan Swift.

Mrs whites chocolate house also was known for its gambling with its gambling room even being nicknamed ‘Hell’ – the patrons of the chocolate house could places bets on almost anything!

By the late 1700’s most chocolate houses were converted in to Gentlemen’s clubs as highly elite gentlemen were the type of customers who attended the chocolate houses anyway.

Mrs White chocolate house still exists today – it is now known as ‘Whites’ and it is the oldest and regarded the most exclusive gentlemen’s club in the country with one of its members being Prince Charles.

Drinking chocolate was a very expensive drink compared to coffee hence why it was visited by the more upper class in society. Although drinking chocolate was available in coffee houses few bought it due to its expensive nature and those who could afford it went to Chocolate houses.

Chocolate house (photo credit- https://chocolateclass.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/from-disdain-to-desire-the-rise-of-chocolate-through-chocolate-houses/)

In the mid 1700’s Hans Sloane bought over a recipe from Jamaica which included adding milk to the drinking chocolate- which before this was often a very bitter drink. This fashion caught on and is similar to the form of hot chocolate we know today rather than the early versions which often included ingredients like chilli.

After milk was added it was often enjoyed as an after dinner beverage. But hot chocolate had a strong reputation it was thought to be a drink the could cure ailments to the stomach and give energy –Robert Falcon Scott used it in his mission to reach the south pole first – making his men drink hot chocolate every night. Hot chocolate was said to ‘make old women young and fresh, create new motions of the flesh’. 

For Samuel Pepys, chocolate was the perfect cure for a hangover, relieving his ‘sad head’ and ‘imbecilic stomach’ the day after Charles II’s bacchanalian coronation. 

Hot chocolate could also be enjoyed with grated bread and eggs to have as a breakfast, adding these to the hot chocolate turned it in to a meal. Upper class ladies also often drank hot chocolate in their bedrooms while at their morning ‘Toilette’.

Robert Falcon Scott expedition (photo credit -https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Falcon-Scott)

As drinking hot chocolate, coffee and tea became more popular the demand for expensive tableware grew. Porcelain tea sets, coffee mugs and chocolate pots became very popular. The manufacturers responded to this demand and made specialised products for each beverage. Spouts were placed lower on chocolate pots and they also had straight handles to define them from a teapot or coffee pot. The chocolate pots also had hinges so that a swizzle stick could be inserted to stir the drink. Many swizzle sticks were attached with a silver chain to the pot so it couldn’t be lost.

Many hot chocolate cups had two handles to distinguish it from coffee and tea cups. If they didn’t have two handles they were often slightly smaller than tea and coffee cups.

As they were purchased by the upper class of England they were all porcelain with very intricate and often beautiful designs. Popular sets came from Worcester or even Sevres in France.

Chocolate set example (photo credit - https://janeaustensworld.wordpress.com/2008/08/09/hot-chocolate-18th-19th-century-style/)

Although the popularity of hot chocolate decline towards the end of the 1700’s due to its complicated making process chocolate still remained a big part of England’s upper class culture as chocolate was a very expensive and luxury product for many years.

Are you glad hot chocolate evolved or would you prefer the Aztec version? 

*All pictures are my own unless otherwise stated