BITTER WATER HITS THE BIG TIME Chocolate, which has its origins in South America, is now part of a multi-million pound worldwide business. At Easter, British people spend over $230 million on chocolate. A massive eight per cent of all chocolate is bought at this time. (1)____. Although the large scale industrial production of chocolate began in the last century, the cacao plant was first cultivated by the Aztec, Toltec and Mayan civilizations of Central America over three thousand years ago. The ...

BITTER WATER HITS THE BIG TIME

Chocolate, which has its origins in South America, is now part of a multi-million pound worldwide business. At Easter, British people spend over $230 million on chocolate. A massive eight per cent of all chocolate is bought at this time. (1)____. Although the large scale industrial production of chocolate began in the last century, the cacao plant was first cultivated by the Aztec, Toltec and Mayan civilizations of Central America over three thousand years ago. The cacao tree is an evergreen, tropical plant which is found in Africa, South and Central America, the West Indies and South East Asia. The fruit of this tree is melon-sized and contains 20-40 seeds. (2)____. In English – speaking countries, they are called cocoa beans. This is a misspelling from the 17th century when they were also called cacoa and cocao beans. The Aztecs used cocoa beans as money. (3)____. This is from the world in the Aztec language, Nahuatl, meaning “bitter water”. (4)____. The Spanish found the drink more palatable mixed with cinnamon and sugar, but the recipe did not spread to the rest of Europe for another century. In the late 17th century, chocolate houses were set up in Europe’s capital cities, where people gathered to drink chocolate. (5)____. But in 1826, CJ van Houten of the Netherlands invented chocolate powder. (6)____. The age of the chocolate bar as we know it began in 1847 when a Bristol company, Fry and Sons, combined cocoa butter with pure chocolate liquor and sugar to produce a solid block that you could eat. (7)____. At the turn of the century, the British chocolate market was dominated by French companies. In 1879 the English company Cadbury even named their Birmingham factory Bournville (ville is the French word for town) in the hope that a little glamour would rub off. But then came Cadbury’s famous Dairy Milk bar which began life as a Dairymaid in 1905. (8)____.It seems that, for the time being at least, chocolate intake in Britain has established at about four bars each week. (9)____. The latest market trick is the so-called “extended line”. This is when the humble chocolate bar becomes an ice cream, a soft drink or a dessert, to tempt chocoholics who have grown tired of conventional snacks. At the other end of the production process, cacao farmers are still feeling the effects of a crash in cocoa bean prices at the end of 1980s. (10)____. Perhaps you could spare a thought for them as you munch your next chocolate bars. A. This was made by extracting most of the cocoa butter from the crushed beans. B. A Swiss company then introduced milk solids to the process which gave us milk chocolate. C. They also used them to make a drink called xocoatl. D. Until the last century, the chocolate drink was made from solid blocks of chocolate which had to be melted down in hot water. E. When dried they become cacao beans, which can be used to make chocolate. F. Clever advertising which associated it with the healthy qualities of milk from the English countryside quickly established the bar as a rival to the more decadent French brands. G. British manufacturers include up to 5 per cent vegetable fat in their chocolate, something forbidden elsewhere. H. As most cacao farmers operate on a very small scale, many were forced out of business. I. This has forced manufacturers to look for new ways to attract customers. J. In Aztec times the chocolate drink was flavored with spices and used on ceremonial occasions and for welcoming visitors. K. Only at Christmas do people eat more of the cocoa-based foodstuffs.

(1)____. Although the large scale industrial production of chocolate began in the last century, the cacao plant was first cultivated by the Aztec, Toltec and Mayan civilizations of Central America over three thousand years ago.