Chocolate

            
             Cacao trees have fruit's the size of an orange or a grape fruit. On the out side of this fruit is a hard, dark skin that can be cut off with a knife. Inside there is a white pulp that has dark purple cacao beans in the middle of it. Cacao trees are originally from South and Central America, but now cacao trees are all over the equator. there are three types of cacao trees. The Forastero tree, makes up for 90% of the worlds cacao beans. The Criollo is the rarest cacao tree, it is the most valuable and the best chocolate makers use these trees. The Trinitario is a mix of the Criollo and the Forastero trees. .
             The first European to see a cacao bean was Columbus. On August 15, 1502, Columbus and his crew found a big canoe full of native things. In the canoe there were cacao beans. Up until the last century cacao beans were the currency in some parts of Central America.
             The first people to make Chocolate were the ancient Maya. they used to grind up the cacao beans and put it in water or wine, and then mix in local foods, vanilla, pimiento, and chili pepper. to make a bitter drink.
             In 1885 the first official shipment of chocolate was made to Spain. When the Spanish people brought the chocolate to Europe. the Europeans took out the chili peppers and added sugar. The new sweet chocolate was available to any one who could afford it. Over the years people started to experimenting with new ways of using cacao. In 1828 Conrad J. Van Houten patented an inexpensive way to press the fat from roasted cacao beans. The center of a cacao bean has an average of 54% cocoa butter, the press took out half of that butter. What was left over was ground into a fine powder known as cocoa. Then Van Houten mixed the cocoa with alkaline salts so you could add water to it easier. the final product, Dutch chocolate, is dark and has a mild taste.