Chocolate 101
Chocolate is quite possibly the greatest invention ever! Biased opinion, we know, but here are the facts: it tastes amazing, it's deliciously addictive, and 97% of the World’s population craves it.
Just honest facts. But truly, how did this magical bean come to be?
The Journey from Mesoamerica to the Modern World
Chocolate’s 4000-year old history began in ancient Mesoamerica, where the first cacao plants were found. The Olmec, one of the earliest civilisations in Latin America, were the first to turn the cacao plant into chocolate. They drank their chocolate during rituals and used it as medicine. Centuries later, the Mayans praised chocolate as the drink of the gods. Mayan chocolate was a revered brew made of roasted and ground cacao seeds mixed with chilis, water and cornmeal. Mayans poured this mixture from one pot to another, creating a thick foamy beverage called “xocolatl", meaning “bitter water”
Cacao: The Currency of the Aztecs
The Aztecs took chocolate admiration to another level. They believed cacao was given to them by their gods. Like the Mayans, they enjoyed the caffeinated kick of hot or cold, spiced chocolate beverages in ornate containers, but they also used cacao beans as currency to buy food and other goods. In Aztec culture, cacao beans were considered more valuable than gold!
Much later, during the Revolutionary War, chocolate was provided to the military as rations and sometimes given to soldiers as payment instead of money. Chocolate was also provided as rations to soldiers during World War II.
Decoding Chocolate: Compound vs. Couverture
So, what’s the difference between compound and couverture chocolate? The two major constituents of chocolate, that are responsible for its flavour and quality, are chocolate liquor and cocoa butter. These two ingredients determine the chocolate’s taste and worth.
The superior the nature of chocolate liquor and cocoa butter, the finer the chocolate tastes. In a chocolate compound, the chocolate liquor is replaced with cocoa powder, and cocoa butter with vegetable oil. While such substitutions certainly make the chocolate more affordable to produce, it's a trade-off that also sacrifices on the delicious flavour.
The Benefits of Organic Chocolate
So why eat organic chocolate? Conventional cacao tree cultivation uses more pesticides than other factory farming process except cotton. In addition to using synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers, many non-organic chocolates, once processed, contain high fructose corn syrup, wax, artificial flavours and colours, and other unappetising non-food ingredients.
At Junee, we chocolate-coat all our products in an organic Belgium style couverture chocolate. This results in a luxuriously smooth and full-flavoured chocolate. With more than 500 flavours to stimulate your taste buds -250 more than any other food - it’s no wonder we all love chocolate!