Chocolate Gifts - Gourmet Gift Baskets Online

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There are some great chocolate gifts online, from a simple but effective box of gourmet chocolates, to something a bit more corporate like a gift basket. Whatever type of gift you are looking for, you are sure to find something that is suitable. Chocolate has come a long way since it was first discovered, but has always been adored - and in some cases even worshipped - by those who produced it.

History of chocolate

Chocolate is made from cocoa, otherwise known by its scientific name, theobroma cacao, which is Latin for 'food of the Gods'. Cocoa comes from the cacao tree, a plant from the sterculiaceae family, which craves hot and humid weather conditions, and is therefore only found in tropical countries like Brazil, Cameroon, Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast . The plant can grow to a height of twenty metres, but is typically between four and eight feet tall. Its leaves and fruit are similar to those of the almond tree, with fruits containing an abundance of seeds from which cocoa powder and cocoa butter are derived.

We know that cocoa was used by the Olmecs as early as 1000BC. But it wasn't until the year 600 that the first civilisation to fully appreciate the qualities of chocolate were the Mayas who gave cocoa its name, a Mayan word literally meaning 'God Food'.

They would roast and crush the cocoa beans with maize and capsicums and leave it to ferment, producing a thick, bitter-sweet drink that was only enjoyed by the wealthy, or occasionally during special ceremonies when everyone was invited to share in the delicacy.

The Aztecs soon followed in this love for chocolate, or 'xocolatl' as they called it. However, the beans could only be acquired through trade and battle because the Aztecs' high-altitude settlements made it impossible to cultivate their own. Eventually the beans became so highly prized that they were the preferred source of currency.

They too only consumed cacao in liquid form, and like the Mayans reserved it for the more wealthy members of society, in particular the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma, who is reputed to have regularly consumed fifty goblets of 'the divine drink' on a daily basis!

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