An Introduction to Chocolate gifts

Introduction.

Now we know that chocolate has been used as a beverage since 1500 BC but it is not possible to verify if giving chocolate gifts was also common back then. Today, in its many forms, chocolate is perhaps the most commonly given gift from one person to another. From a packet of the simplest chocolate chip cookies to the most elaborate box of chocolates. There are chocolate gifts readily available for every budget.

The beginning of Chocolate gifts.

We know that chocolate is manufactured from the cocoa bean and that cocoa trees most likely grow in the Amazon rain forests. The first cocoa plantations are attributed to the Mayans around 600 AD. Nevertheless it is the ancient Aztec civilization, of Central America, with which we now mostly associate the beginnings of ‘chocolate’ as we today know it. It is known that even prior to Christopher Columbus who was the first European who tasted Chocolate, that the cocoa beans were used in Central America as a form of currency. For them this has been a luxury good. The concept of chocolate gifts was, therefore, well established before European influences. It was Cortez, returning to Spain from Central America, who is acknowledged with introducing chocolate to Europe. He actually saw the potential of chocolate as a luxury gift. Before returning to Spain, he even established his own cocoa plantation in Mexico. Remaining a luxury drink for several centuries the popularity of chocolate spread across Europe and the American colonies. Joseph Fry from England discovered 1848 how to produce consumable chocolate. From this point of time on solid chocolate bars were produced and, of course, were soon sent to people as a chocolate gift. However, it wasn’t until the latter part of the 19th century that Randolphe Lindt developed a way of refining and smoothing consumable chocolate and he started producing luxury chocolate gifts.

Different types of chocolate used in gifts.

Besides of unsweetened or cooking chocolate and the cocoa powder itself, there are seven types of chocolate that are commonly used in chocolate gifts.
Bitter chocolate - is often only available from delicatessens, it has a very strong flavour and can be used for cooking instead of plain chocolate.
Dark chocolate - is probably the most classic of all the chocolate gifts to give. Sometimes referred to as plain chocolate, it is very popular with true chocolate connoisseurs.
Milk chocolate – has a mild taste. In milk chocolate some of the chocolate is replaced by milk solids. Milk chocolate gifts are very popular in the UK and the USA.
White chocolate – as a matter of fact white chocolate does not contain any cocoa related substance at all. Ideally it will have some cocoa butter in it, but even that can be replaced with vegetable fats. However, white chocolate gifts are very popular as they tend to be very sweet.
Drinking chocolate - perhaps not an obvious choice as a gift on its own; nevertheless flavoured drinking chocolate gifts are becoming more popular. It can also be used to coat other luxury foods like truffles.
Dipping chocolate - with fondue sets making a return to dining tables everywhere, taking dipping chocolate to a dinner party makes an ideal chocolate gift.
Couverture chocolate - unless you’re a professional or extremely enthusiastic cook, receiving couverture chocolate as a gift might seem strange. This form of chocolate is excellent for coating and moulding. It is subsequently most likely to be used in a chocolate gift that has an unusual shape to it, such as novelty chocolate animals etc.

Buying chocolate gifts.

There are plenty of High street stores from which you can buy many different chocolate gifts every time around the year. However, by using an internet based company you can order chocolate gifts 24/7, and arrange to be delivered anywhere in the world. Established and reputable online stores specializing in chocolate gifts will have easy to follow instructions on how to place a chocolate gift order, as well as clearly showing you what the gift will look like; whether it’s a birthday chocolate gift basket or romantic chocolate gift.