cocoa
There is so much to tell about cacao and cacao drinks (hot chocolate)! Think about the history and the way it was and is made.
1500 BC – Xocolatl
Cacao drinks were a religious beverage for the Aztecs and Mayans. The Mayans worshipped xocolatl (“bitter water”), made from ground cacao, corn flour, and ingredients such as cinnamon and chili pepper. Foam was an important part of the drink (just like with beer and cappuccino).
Spanish Conquistadors
Bad news for the Aztecs. Cacao caught the attention of the conquistadors (Spanish conquerors). Cacao was an important and valuable prize of conquest that was transported to Spain. In the early 1500s, the explorer Cortés presented cacao beans at the court of King Charles V. Loved by the royal household, the bitter drink xocolatl was adapted. Chili pepper was replaced with sugar. The spicy and bitter cacao drink became Spanish hot and sweet chocolate milk.
17th and 18th Century
A chocolate revolution ignited in Europe, spreading to France and soon reaching London and Amsterdam. Chocolate houses were bustling with nobles, politicians, and aristocrats.
At the courts of rulers, combinations such as pepper with vanilla were experimented with. The drink was also seen as a medicine and sometimes as an aphrodisiac (lust-enhancing).
1828
Van Houten developed a press that could separate cacao mass into cocoa powder and cocoa butter. From that point on, it became possible to make a smooth, refined chocolate drink.
Want to learn more? Visit the Van Houten Museum in Weesp! It’s great fun and very interesting.
1847 – First Edible Chocolate Bar
For the first time, chocolate was no longer only drinkable. Industrialists in America and England began producing edible bars on a large scale, based on Van Houten’s invention. Chocolate became a mass product.
Fry’s (UK) was the first to create a molded, solid chocolate bar in 1847. It was the first mass-produced chocolate bar and is the oldest chocolate brand in the world.
The Zaan Region
In the Netherlands, cacao arrived in the ports of Zeeland and Amsterdam. From Amsterdam, the cacao was transported by boat to the mills in the Zaan region. Around 1850, Zaan mills gradually transitioned from wind power to steam engines.
Industry
The cacao port of Amsterdam is the largest in the world. Each year, about one fifth of the global harvest—over 650,000 tons of cacao beans—enters Europe through Amsterdam. These beans are then processed by the many companies of major food-industry giants located in Wormer and Zaandam. Well-known names include De Zaan (OFI) and Gerkens (Cargill).
The cacao factory De Zaan (OFI) is located opposite Blik op Cacao—which is where our name comes from. De Zaan was founded in 1911 and has grown into one of the world’s largest cacao-bean processing industries.
Port
Amsterdam and the Zaan region play an important role in global cocoa production. Eighty percent of all cocoa beans from the Port of Amsterdam arrive in the Zaan region. Every day, many tons of beans are processed into cocoa mass, powders, and cocoa butter.
With organic cocoa powder from the Crown of Holland factory, you can make your own hot chocolate the traditional way at Blik op Cacao. Delicious!