History of Working with Chocolates
Over the ages, chocolate has been worked with in many ways. The ancient Olmec, Mayan, and Aztec civilizations used chocolate to make a hot drink. The Spanish and other Europeans originally used chocolate as drinking chocolate as well.
Another way these ancient peoples "worked" with chocolate was very unusual. They used chocolate - specifically, cocoa beans - as currency. Yes, you could pay your bills in chocolate. Or, you could work for chocolate. Nice options indeed.
Chocolate, or rather cocoa beans, were also used to pay duties or taxes.
Chocolate processing over the ages has included several developments. Chocolate has been processed as cocoa powder, made into chocolate bars, bonbons, and chocolate truffles, and of course made into fudge. The first milk chocolate was an important development. Giving chocolate as a gift is another way of "working" with chocolate which has become a favorite chocolate tradition.
