Montezuma, the Aztec Emperor, drank 50 goblets of chocolate drink every day. He believed it to be the nectar of the gods. Today, chocolate beverages are available to everyone, and the choices appear limitless. Americans love chocolate to the amount of $19.5 billion in sales in 2011, and this trend should continue throughout the decade. The Beverage Industry’s 2012 New Product Development Survey reflected this craze naming chocolate the No. 2 best selling flavor. Vanilla was No. 1. (Go figure.) Continue Reading...

The Olmecs, a people who lived in the Mexican peninsula from 1500-400 BC were probably the first humans to benefit from eating cocoa. The Mayans and Aztecs successfully cultivated the rich bean, too, in equatorial Mexico. During their wars with the Aztecs and Mayans, the Chimimeken people levied taxes on conquered lands using cocoa beans as their form of currency. It is a sure bet that a few tax collectors nibbled on their tax haul receiving a multitude of benefits Continue Reading...

Taking Chocolate Industry By Storm In the business of cocoa bean supply, every company is looking for raw materials, which are not only good but also cheap, and in the business of chocolates and cocoa-based products, the Cocoa Family is in the forefront.  This is because they have used integrated business systems eliminating intermediaries from their business, selling cocoa beans directly to the manufacturing companies, ensuring that the large chunk of profit which intermediaries were given instead goes into the Continue Reading...

Go ahead! Nibble on some chocolate, the darker the better. It will improve your brain and then some. Let me explain as you let some delicious chocolate melt in your mouth. Cocoa, the prime ingredient in dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidant molecules. These are mainly flavonoids, plant based antioxidant particles. These molecules, when ingested stimulate the passage of blood throughout the brain. Your doctor calls this brain perfusion stimulation. I call it a good excuse to eat another chocolate Continue Reading...

By Michael Thal Cocoa has been around since early man. The ancient Aztec and Mayan civilizations used the cocoa bean to cure emaciation, angina, anemia, and bowel complaints. Today, we have seen from extensive scientific research that cocoa powders have health benefits dependent on the alkalization of the powder. When the cocoa bean is alkalized, also known as Dutch processing, the bitter compounds in the cocoa bean are removed changing the pH level of the bean from its natural state Continue Reading...