Chocolate is a typically sweet preparation, usually brown, from Theobroma cacao seeds, roasted and ground. It is made in the form of liquid, paste or block, or is used as a flavoring ingredient in other foods. Cocoa has been cultivated by many cultures for at least three millennia in Mesoamerica. The earliest evidence of use of traces to Mokaya (Mexico and Guatemala), with evidence of chocolate drinks dating from 1900 .
After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned and roasted. The peel is removed to produce cocoa seeds, which are then ground to the cocoa mass, unadulterated chocolate in rough form. Once the cocoa mass is liquefied by heating, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor can also be cooled and processed into its two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Chocolate for baking, also called bitter chocolate, contains cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions, with no added sugars. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, a combination of cocoa solids, cocoa butter or added vegetable oils and sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that also contains milk powder or condensed milk. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, sugar and milk, but does not contain cocoa solids.
Cocoa solids are a source of flavonoids and alkaloids, such as theobromine, phenethylamine and caffeine. Chocolate also contains anandamide. Chocolate has become one of the most popular types and flavors in the world, and a lot of food products related to chocolate have been created, especially desserts that include cakes, puddings, mousse, chocolate brownies and cookies with sparks of chocolate. Many candies are filled or covered with sweetened chocolate, and solid chocolate bars and chocolate coated chocolate bars are eaten as snacks. Chocolate gifts molded in different forms (for example, eggs, hearts, coins) have become traditional in certain western festivities, such as Easter, Valentine's Day and Hanukkah. Chocolate is also used in hot and cold drinks such as milk chocolate and hot chocolate and in some alcoholic beverages, such as cocoa butter.
Although cocoa originated in the Americas, in recent years African nations have assumed a leading role in the production of cocoa. Since the 2000s, West Africa produces almost two thirds of the world's cocoa, with the Ivory Coast growing almost half that amount.