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Stoddard “two half pounds of chockalett” instead of Commencement Cake. In his diary, Sewall wrote in 1697 about having “chockalett” and venison for a breakfast where “Massachuset and Mixco meet.” In 1702, he recorded bringing Minister Samuel Whiting “2 balls of Chockalett and a pound of figs,” because he was “languishing” and Mrs. One was Judge Samuel Sewall, who, from 1674 to 1729, kept a journal where he recorded uniquely commonplace goings-on, giving historians access to the lives of the Puritans and candy enthusiasts a glimpse of the early life of chocolate. Then, as now, chocolate had many fans, some illustrious. The business was called “Baker’s Chocolate’, forever misleading people to believe the brand was just for bakers.
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So, he brought in James Baker, a wealthy Harvard College graduate and businessman, for help.Īfter literal nose-to-the-grindstone, the company was producing 900 pounds of chocolate for the Colonists. The Hannon-Baker partnership ended for reasons unknown, but one thing is certain: Hannon went on a trip, possibly to the West Indies in search of cacao, and was never heard from again, likely killed in a shipwreck. Hannon was brilliant but not entirely business-like and not at all wealthy. you can find directions here!Ībout 100 years later, an Irish immigrant, John Hannon, started the first chocolate mill, turning the cacao bean and its internal “nibs” into the ingredients for a coveted, if not bitter, drink. For a sample of their chocolate, why not try our Taza selections or try making some using our fresh nibs. ” The officials agreed although, as in Europe, chocolate had its detractors, primarily those who considered it a sin. The first sighting of the cacao amongst European immigrants appeared in a petition drafted in 1670 by Dorothy Jones and Jane Barnard “to keepe a house of publique Entertainment for the selling of Coffee and Chucalettoe. Feeling adventurous – try our cacao and pomegranate mix – what Mesoamericans and their peers in the ancient Middle East and Mediterranean were enjoying same time but vastly different place! The perfect combination! Enjoy the nibs in shakes, smoothies, cereals and even, as is.
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When people say cacao is good for you – this is what they’re talking about. We carry cacao beans in the shell – a soft shell, easy to chew and swallow, and those that have been ground and fermented as they are just before becoming commercial chocolate. The cacao tree has pods and within these beans. The first chocolate came from Mesoamerica – the regions south of Mexico.
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