What is Chocolate?

Chocolate is the most popular candy in the world and according to the World Cocoa Foundation, people around the world (mainly in Europe and the United States) consume more than 3 million tons of cocoa beans annually. And eating chocolate is not only good for you, but also  for your heart and brain. 

According to the online expo "Chocolate: Food of the Gods" at the Cornell University Library, chocolate is made from the fruits of theobroma cacao, a tropical tree that means "food of the gods" in Greek.

Theobroma cacao trees grow naturally in the Amazon and Orinoco river basins of South America. The trees extend from southeastern Mexico to the Amazon. According to Cornell, they grow in hot and humid areas within about 20 degrees of the equator. With the popularity of chocolate spread, growers have arranged plantations in other regions such as West Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Today, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Indonesia and Brazil account for 79% of the world's cocoa production.

Cacao tree

history of chocolate?

History of chocolate began in ancient Mesoamerica, now Mexico which dates back to roughly The 4,000-year ago. This is where the first cocoa plants were found.  Olmec, one of the earliest civilisations in Latin America, were the first civilisation to turn cocoa plants into chocolate. They drank  chocolate during their ritual and used it as a medicine. 
 
After the century, the Maya praised chocolate as a drink for the gods. Mayan chocolate was a respected formulation of roasted and ground cocoa seeds mixed with pepper, water and cornmeal. The Maya poured this mixture to create a rich, frothy drink called "Xocolatl," which means "bitter water." 

 In the 15th century, the Aztecs used cocoa beans as their currency. Believing that chocolate was a gift from the god Quetzalcoatl, they drank it as a soft drink, an aphrodisiac, and even in preparation for the war.

The Spanish kept chocolate quiet for a long time and It took almost a century for the treat to reach neighbouring France and other parts of Europe. 
 In 1615,  King Louis XIII of France married Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III of Spain. To celebrate her union, she brought a sample of chocolate to the French royal palace. Following the French example, chocolate soon appeared in a special "chocolate house" in England. As the trend spread through Europe, many nations set up their own cocoa plantations in countries along the equator.

Old Dutch chocolate box

Types of chocolate

Chocolate falls into three categories: dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. 

•  Dark chocolate contains chocolate liqueur, cocoa butter, lecithin, sugar and vanilla. 
•  Milk chocolate contains milk fat and milk solids in addition to all of the above. 
•  White chocolate contains everything milk chocolate does, except chocolate liquor.

Different types of chocolate

Health benefits of chocolate

Chocolate is high in fat and sugar, so it has received a lot of bad news. Its consumption is associated with acne, obesity, hypertension, coronary artery disease and diabetes. However, according to a review of the health effects of chocolate in the Netherlands Journal of Medicine, this is not all bad news. The author notes the discovery that cocoa contains biologically active phenolic compounds. This  changed people's view of chocolate and  stimulated research into how chocolate affects diseases such as ageing, oxidative stress, blood pressure regulation, and atherosclerosis. 
 
Chocolate's antioxidant potential may have a range of health benefits. The higher the cocoa content, as in dark chocolate, the more benefits there are. Dark chocolate may also contain less fat and sugar, but it is important to check the label. 

•  Eating chocolate may have the following benefits: 
•  lowering cholesterol levels 
•  preventing cognitive decline 
•  reducing the risk of cardiovascular problems

Chocolate infused face mask

what is a chocolate massage?

Due to cocoa's active components, it relieves tension, pressure, stress and anxiety through generating and producing endorphins inside the body. The sweet smell and the smooth feel of the chocolate create a relaxed ambiance at some stage in the massage, giving you a mellow experience. It additionally carries theobromine, which aids to burn fat,  nourishes, firms, hydrates, and moisturises the skin. 

Chocolate massage also gets rid of cellulite. This form of massage is healthy as it has many health-associated advantages from the chocolate except the overall ones acquired from massage. People agree that this massage helps having all of the benefits of chocolate without the calories. It's a massage that everybody has to experience as a minimum once.

You may now experience your chocolate massage with Carisma Spa. Our limited Valentine’s Packages will now offer chocolate infused treatments such as chocolate infused oil massage and chocolate face mask. Get rid of all that stress and enjoy your sweet getaway with your loved one at Carisma Spa & Wellness.