Travel ideas for chocolate lovers

We Brits are a nation of chocolate lovers, getting through an impressive 8.2kg of chocolate per capita every year (not all of it at Easter, although there will be some children who give it a good go). In fact, with 80% of us eating it more than once a week, we are among the top chocolate consumers in the world. But where did it come from, and how did we grow to love it so much?

Chocolate first evolved from ancient civilisations in what is now Mexico and Central America, who used cacao beans to make a bitter, frothy drink that they considered a gift from the gods. Later, the Aztecs revered cacao so much they used it as currency. Spanish explorers brought it back to Europe, and it made its way to the UK in the 17th century, where it became a status symbol, served as a luxury drink in chocolate houses in London and drunk on a daily basis by William III, who loved it so much he employed his own chocolatier. By the 1850s the rise of manufacturers such as John Cadbury, Henry Rowntree and Joseph Fry brought chocolate bars to the masses. Since then, we have gone crazy for it, and consume around 536,000 tonnes of it annually from all over the world. Here are the best places in the world to experience chocolate and learn more.

Mexico has been instrumental in bringing chocolate to the wider world; it was believed that the Olmecs, a Mesoamerican people who lived in what is present-day Veracruz and Tabasco, first widely consumed products derived from the cacao plant. Sadly, they never got the memo about sugar; they fermented the beans and pounded them into a stimulating, yet very sour, drink, which were used as part of religious rituals, and for medicinal purposes. The process was refined by the Mayans of the Yucatan peninsula, who in turn passed it down to the Aztecs. They introduced it to the Spanish, who enjoyed its flavour and bracing effects, eventually adding ingredients such as cinnamon, milk and – finally – sugar, to make it taste (much) better. They took it back to the Old World and the rest is (European) history.

Champurrado, a Mexican chocolate drink

Today, Mexico has maintained its own distinct traditions, and people still consume chocolate as a frothy, whipped drink, often just made with water and no sweeteners. You can find a variety of specialised chocolate across the country, such as pozol, a cold drink made with cocoa and fermented corn dough, or champurrado, made with masa, a ground corn dough, and spices like cinnamon and star anise. It’s also often used as an important component of mole, a rich, complex sauce which can be made with a range of different ingredients such as fruit, nuts, tomatoes, chilies, garlic and cloves.

Discover more about Mexico’s chocolate culture at fascinating museums such as the comprehensive Museo del Chocolate in Mexico City. Located close by the imposing Monumento a la Revolución, in the charming Colonia Juárez neighbourhood, this small museum is set in an elegant house built at the turn of the 20th century. You’ll learn about the chocolate-making process and discover how production evolved through the centuries around the world. There’s a gift shop where you can stock up on your own supply, and a cafe – make sure to order a hot chocolate.

Monumento a la Revolución, Mexico City

Alternatively, you can delve more deeply into the Mayans’ influence at Museo Choco-Story Uxmal, in Yucatan, an ancient Mayan city. Set in a handsome former sugar hacienda, the museum takes you through the history of cacao, from when the beans were first cultivated in this area to the Mayan and Aztec periods, and to how it ended up in Europe. There is also a recreation of a Mayan ritual ceremony, where offerings would be left to their rain god.

Learn to make your own at a bean-to-bar workshop in the beautiful coastal resort city Puerto Vallarta, or take a tour of the lovely city of San Miguel de Allende, where you’ll discover the different ways they use chocolate in their cuisine. As well as being used in 'mole' sauces, you can also find chocolate (usually dark and unsweetened) in chili con carne, pozole – a hearty soup-like stew –and sometimes in sauces served with enchiladas.

For desserts, you’ll find it in sweet tamales, along with fruit and nuts, or chocoflan, a popular layered cake made with baked custard and caramel.

While the Mayans were busy drinking cacao bean liquid around the 600 BC, they should have been thanking the Ecuadorians, because the actual birthplace of the cacao plant is Ecuador.

A unique piece of ceramic pottery was found near a small town called Palanda, in the country’s southern region, containing ancient remnants of cacao dating back to 3300 BC. Ecuador rose to become the world’s largest exporter of cacao, until the beginning of the 20th century when other countries across Africa and Asia started producing it, and local farmers turned to more lucrative crops, such as coffee and bananas. But in recent years, Ecuadorian chocolate has had a resurgence, thanks to the high quality of its beans; known as Arriba Nacional, a reference to the location of their discovery, they have a complex, unique aroma and taste.

Cacao tree, Ecuador

A new generation of chocolatiers has evolved, focusing on innovative flavours as well as sustainability; look out for award-winning Pacari, based in the capital, Quito; To’ak Chocolate, which uses one of the rarest types of cacao, and focuses on protecting and restoring Ecuador’s Pacific Forest; and B Corp company, Republica del Cacao.

Visit El Museo de Cacao in the country’s biggest city, Guayaquil, to find out about cacao’s Ecuadorian origins. Set in a beautifully restored Art Deco house, the museum focuses on the social, economic and symbolic significance of cacao around the world, beginning in Ecuador.

Alternatively, learn about the chocolate production process at the El Quetzal hotel and restaurant in the small, charming, cloud forest town of Mindo, where you’ll visit their cacao farm and enjoy a tasting. There are chocolate tours every day where you’ll get a hands-on experience of their chocolate making process.

Mindo Valley

You can see the cacao plants in their leafy farm, before heading back to the restaurant to witness how the beans are processed, then enjoy tasting some of their different chocolate bars and their famous brownie. The restaurant also features chocolate in some of their offerings, from barbecue sauces to lava cakes and even a chocolate martini.

The Swiss started producing chocolate at around the end of the 18th century, but it didn’t really make waves until 1819, when a man called Francois-Louis Cailler had the idea to produce it in the shape of a bar.

He constructed a sophisticated, water-powered chocolate factory in the small town of Vevey, on Lac Léman (Lake Geneva), where he poured chocolate into moulds until they set. Even more excitingly, several decades later, in 1875, his son-in-law, Daniel Peter, had the genius idea of adding condensed milk from a local company, Nestlé, to their dark chocolate, and milk chocolate was born.

Swiss chocolate

Another innovation came out of Switzerland in 1879 thanks to chocolatier Rodolphe Lindt from Bern, who developed the method of conching, a mixing and grinding technique which renders chocolate smooth and glossy. Today, Switzerland turns out 180,000 tonnes of chocolate every year. Its brands produce everything from melt-in-the-mouth Lindor truffles to Kit Kats, Smarties, and, of course, the mighty, triangular Toblerone.

Milk chocolate is still the most-produced, followed by dark and white (white chocolate was invented by Nestlé in 1936). Specialities like chocolate ganache and praline, or gianduja, are also popular in filled bars and truffles, and ruby chocolate was invented by Swiss manufacturer Barry Callebaut in 2017.

The Lindt Home of Chocolate Museum in Zurich is a tasty journey through Swiss chocolate history, home to a vast, 500m2 Lindt chocolate shop and a Willy Wonka-esque chocolate fountain. Go back to where it all began at Maison Cailler, now based in Broc, where you can explore their chocolate story through a series of interactive, multisensory experiences, book a chocolate-making workshop or even take part in a chocolate-themed escape game. The quirky Chocolarium, in St Gallen, is home to the Munz and Minor chocolate factory and aims to show you, aptly, ‘how happiness gets into chocolate’.