07/07/2025
World Chocolate Day, celebrated on July 7th, commemorates the introduction of chocolate to Europe in 1550.
To celebrate World Chocolate Day, here are ten fun chocolate facts:
1. Chocolate Money in Mayan Times
The Mayans are believed to be the first to discover chocolate and, in Mayan times, your favorite chocolate bar may have been worth it’s weight in gold!
2. Chocolate is Good for Your Health
Hooray – chocolate can be good for your health! It is generally believed that the darker the chocolate, the greater the health benefits.
3. Chocolate is Mouth-Meltingly Tasty
Chocolate melts at just below human blood temperature, which is why it is so mouth-meltingly satisfying. Milk chocolate has higher levels of cocoa butter so is more likely to melt in your hand whilst dark chocolate will melt in your mouth!
4. Say it with Chocolate
Belgium are famous for their delicious chocolates. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to find out that, in 2013, Belgium issued over 500,000 postage stamps which smelled of cocoa and were coated in a varnish to look like chocolate. The stamps even had a special glue that tasted like chocolate when licked!
5. Power Up with Chocolate
Just like reports that chocolate is good for your health, it could also help you focus, sharpen memory and protect your brain from ageing.
6. Chocolate Grows on Trees
Money might not grow on trees, but chocolate does! Each cacao tree can produce 2,500 beans with approximately 3.8 millions of cacao beans growing a year. It takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate. And the largest grower of cocoa beans is West Africa - 70% of the worlds' supply!
7. The First Ever Chocolate Bar was British
J.S. Fry & Sons are credited with being the first chocolatiers to come up with a way to consume chocolate in solid form. In 1847, they commercialised the first chocolate bar, made from sugar, chocolate liquor, and cocoa butter.
8. The name chocolate comes from 2 different ancient civilizations.
The word chocolate is derived from the Spanish word ‘xocoatl’ which was a combination of the Mayan word ‘chocol’ (meaning hot) and the Aztec word, ‘atl’ (meaning liquid). In these cultures, chocolate was consumed as a hot, bitter drink that gave people energy, and was also used as an aphrodisiac. This led people in these societies to believe that cacao was a gift from the god Quetzalcoatl. The binomial nomenclature for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao comes from ancient Greek and quite literally translates into “food of the gods”.
9. Hershey’s Kisses are named after a kissing sound – but it’s not as romantic as it sounds
Ever wondered why Hershey’s Kisses are called kisses? It might not be as romantic as you imagined! In fact, the kisses are so-named because the machine that pushes them out makes a ‘kissing’ sound each time the chocolate touches the conveyor belt.
10. Chocolate makes you happy.
What you may not know, is that the flavonoids present in chocolate (also present in wine or coffee), stimulate the brain in many ways. They trigger the brain to release neurotransmitter chemicals, such as endorphins (the relaxing hormone), serotonin and dopamine (the happiness hormones), as well as oxytocin. This in turn leaves you on a bit of a "chocolate high", which explains the warm fuzzy feeling you get after indulging in some delicious chocolate.
