Chocolate stirs up the emotions like no other food. Since it's discovery, we have used it to express our feelings, soothe our bodies and minds and celebrate a wide array of social occasions. The origins of this wonderful substance can be traced back over four thousand years, to the ancient civilisations of South America.

"Aztec Indian legend believed that cacao seeds originated in Paradise and would bless anyone who ate them with spiritual wisdom, energy and enhanced sexual powers.

Both Mayan and Aztec priests offered cacao seeds to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies, and Aztec warriors ate cacao seeds to fortify themselves in battle."

"Unbelievably, the beans were overlooked in favour of the other discoveries Columbus had to offer!"

"English sailors sometimes captured Spanish galleons carrying gold and cocoa. Ignorant to their value, they would throw the cocoa beans overboard after tasting their bitter flavour!"

The word chocolate comes from the Mayan word 'xocoatl' (pronounced 'shock-ohwattel'), and the word 'cocoa' from the Aztec word 'cacahuatl' (pronounced 'ka-ka-wattel'). The cacao bean is believed to have been used around the Mexican Gulf Coast as early as 1500 BC, but it was the Mayan Indians in the rainforests of Central America who created the earliest-known cocoa plantations, using the beans as currency.

The Aztecs discovered that roasting and grinding cocoa seeds made a nourishing paste that could be dissolved in water. They added spices and chilli and called this drink 'chocolatl' meaning 'bitter water'. Only the highest levels of Aztec society could partake of this sacred beverage and chocolate continued to be a privilege of the elite until the early 1700's.

Chocolate remained a secret from Europe until 1502, when Christopher Columbus discovered a form of the drink in Nicaragua, and took some cocoa beans back to the court of King Ferdinand in Spain.

And so, the potential of the cocoa bean remained hidden. Then in 1519, the Spanish conqueror Hernando Cortez visited the court of Emperor Montezuma in Mexico and was presented with a golden goblet of 'chocolatl'. Realizing he had stumbled across something amazing, Cortez took some cocoa beans back to Spain, where Spanish monks perfected a technique to roast and grind them (they also replaced chilli with cane sugar to improve the taste!). The chocolate drink soon became the rage of the Spanish court, marking the beginning of chocolate's conquest of Europe.

The Spanish guarded the secret of chocolatl from their European neighbours for almost 100 years, during which time they planted cocoa in their overseas colonies, setting the scene for what was to become a major world commodity.

"In the fifteenth century chocolate was prescribed as a medicine to boost the weakened body, and by the late sixteenth century Parisians were using chocolate to treat an astonishing range of maladies, including indigestion, nervous conditions and venereal disease!"

The use of chocolate for medicinal purposes stretches back to the fourth century, when it was used as
a wound dressing.

"Allegedly Emperor Montezuma always drank a full goblet of chocolate prior to entering his harem!"

"In the fifteenth century chocolate was prescribed as a medicine to boost the weakened body, and by the late sixteenth century Parisians were using chocolate to treat an astonishing range of maladies, including indigestion, nervous conditions and venereal disease!"

The 17th century diarist, Samuel Pepys, was a firm believer in the energising properties of chocolate, and took it to relieve hangovers, while Napoleon carried it with him in battle, eating it when he needed an energy boost.

The 20th and 21st centuries have seen continued debate about the health and well-being benefits of chocolate, including:-

Claims that eating chocolate can help you live longer - it contains powerful antioxidant phenols, which can lower the risk of heart disease

Claims that eating chocolate can help lower blood pressure - it contains flavonols, which help prevent oxidation of the blood cells

Claims that eating chocolate is healthy - the cocoa butter used to make it is broken down by the liver and behaves in the body like a mono-unsaturated fat (such as olive oil)

Claims that chocolate has aphrodisiac properties - the Aztecs forbade women to eat it for this very reason. This legend still persists today, with ongoing speculation that chocolate reproduces the feelings of being in love, possibly through the presence of the stimulant PEA (phenylethylamine), which boosts energy levels and increases serotonin in the brain, triggering sensations of pleasure. The more widely acknowledged belief is that chocolate makes people feel good because of the sensual pleasure it delivers - which explains much more succinctly our enduring love for this wonderful substance.