Chocolate Origin & History
Chocolate is native to Central and South America where is has been consumed for over 1000 years. The Cocoa tree produces a fruit which is filled with oily seeds.
The seeds inside the fruit are fermented and dried. They are then roasted similar to coffee beans. The shell is removed and the remaining nib is ground into what is called cocoa mass. The mass can be further separated into cocoa solids and cocoa butter.
Chocolate was introduced in Europe when discovered by the Spanish explorers in the 16th century. It was consumed primarily as a drink until the 1800's when the chocolate press was developed enabling the manufacture of the moldable paste we are accustom to.
Dutch Girl Chocolates uses only Belgian chocolate known for it's royally mandatded quality standards.