Cocoa Crosses the Atlantic

Chocolate took a little while to be introduced to the mainstream European palate. The original bitter drink was not considered very popular when it was first brought to the Spanish court and had a saucy reputation, cooked up by mostly Catholic clergy, for having addictive qualities and instilling bad habits, especially among the Spanish and Creole women living in the newly founded colonies in Central and South America. This is rather ironic, since it was predominantly men who drank chocolate before the Spanish Conquest. 

At the same time, cocoa was also said to cure any number of ailments from dysentery to headaches. Of course, through the modern technology we have, we are able to determine what health benefits chocolate may and may not have…more on that later.

Once honey and sugar were introduced to the chocolate drink--and later milk, heavy cream,    and eggs--cocoa took off running. Spices like cinnamon and pepper from the Middle East took the place of chili, and rose petals replaced vanilla. Almonds and eggs became thickeners instead of cornmeal.

At first it was a drink that only the nobility of the European courts could afford. Later, upper middle class, and even the moderate middle class could afford cocoa, particularly on special occasions, like weddings and holidays.

England is all but infamous for being a tea-drinking country. Although they do adore those tea leaves, in the late 1650s, it was cocoa and coffeehouses that were popular places for people to congregate and talk about everything from politics to the latest court gossip. It is known that even Sir Isaac Newton frequented some of his favorite coffeehouses to talk with his fellow colleagues about his budding theories about gravity and physics.

In the early eighteenth century, chocolate started popping up in English cookbooks in recipes for drinking chocolate, and later as an ingredient for puddings and puffs, mousses and tarts. Drinking chocolate was added to the breakfast spread of the upper class and upper middle class, and was served in silver or porcelain chocolatiers.

The invention of the steam engine was in many ways the gateway to the production of chocolate as we know it today. In 1795, Joseph Storrs Fry patented a method that for grinding cocoa beans. Fry used a steam engine to pulverize and grind the beans so fine, that it lost its usually gritty texture. Up until that point, chocolate was not as smooth as it is today, because the technology had not been there to grind the cocoa beans so finely. This processed allowed the cocoa beans to be ground into a refined paste, and then poured into molds and cooled, and finally sold in bricks or cakes.

Chocolate started to be introduced to the then colonies of North America via Britain. Shipments of cocoa were being heavily taxed (along with a lot of other imports). Despite this, it is probable that more cocoa came into America than was documented. There were coffeehouses in Boston that served hot cocoa, although at high prices. Craftspeople and laborers were known to possess cocoa beans. During the American Revolution, soldiers on both sides had access to cocoa for energy and portable sustenance.

The first chocolate mill in North America is documented to have been established about 1765, in a water mill on the Neponset River in Massachusetts. An Irish emigrant, John Hannon, joined forces with James Baker, a physician from Harvard. Hannon had the knowledge and skills to make chocolate, and Baker envisioned a great opportunity. They would grind the cocoa beans between two mill stones until a thick syrup-like paste formed. This would be stirred, poured into molds, cooled and finally sold.

The two worked side-by-side for several years, expanding the business into two separate mills. By the end of 1773, James Baker knew that the mill produced about nine hundred pounds of cocoa. In 1779, John Hannon suddenly disappeared on a voyage to the West Indies, “investigating cocoa suppliers…,” (Moss and Badenoch 2009), and was never heard from again.

The year following Hannon’s mysterious disappearance, James Baker took over the business with the help of his son, Edmund. During the War of 1812, when imports from Europe became almost nonexistent, trade for the Baker Company thrived. In 1824 James Baker’s grandson, Walter, took over the business. To this day, Baker’s chocolate, now owned by the Kraft Corporation, is still widely available and used in North America.

 (http://perfectrecipeproject.blogspot.com/2013/01/super-easy-low-carb-fudge.html)

Moss, S.; Badenoch, A. (2009). Chocolate: A Global History. London: Reakton Books Ltd.

Stevens, P. (2012). Dorchester Report. James Baker and John Hannon: Pioneer Chocolatmeisters. Boston, MA: Boston Neighborhood News, Inc. http://www.dotnews.com/2012/james-baker-and-john-hannon-pioneer-chocolatemeisters.