When Carlos V took a sip of that bitter, dark, sparkling brew that Hernán Cortés served him on his return from the New World in the S.XVI, the monarch did not imagine that he was witnessing a key moment in European gastronomy, the arrival of chocolate. According to the chronicles of the time, in the XNUMXth century, more than five tons of chocolate were consumed per year in Madrid alone.
The first European to try the ‘tchocolat” It was Christopher Columbus. The delicacy was attributed magical qualities for its energizing abilities and, according to pre-Columbian tradition, it also acted as a powerful aphrodisiac. Moctezuma drank up to 50 cups before lying down with the women of his harem, a custom Cortés inherited upon his arrival in Mexico. Napoleon, however, consumed it the night before fighting a battle to gain vigor in combat, a use that American soldiers imitated in World War II. And they were not the first, there is evidence that in 1750 the Royal Navy he had established that a cup of chololate be included in his marines’ meals.
In the XNUMXth century it was sold throughout Europe in pharmacies in the form of syrups and pills whose bitter taste displeased the mourners. It was in the XNUMXth century when the large factories that reach our days (Suchard, Lindt, Nestle) they decided mix it with milk and sweeten it, thus began the unstoppable growth of the cocoa industry until today, in which the pieces are dressed in different flavors that achieve experiences to the taste of each consumer.
For the most orthodox, the purest chocolate must be bitter while mixed with milk captivates the vast majority of consumers. Those with a sweet tooth prefer the option purists detest, the chocolate blanco, which does not have cocoa but cocoa butter mixed with other ingredients such as condensed milk.
Each filtering bag pairings The favorites of the most chocolatiers are strawberries, mint and nuts and premium brands dress their raw material with all kinds of flavors to achieve an excellent gourmet experience. If you think that your palate deserves a luxury, these five varieties are the best options to entertain it.
boyfriend
Originally from Ecuador, it began to fall in love with the most refined Spanish palates in 2007, since 2008 it has become one of the brands of chocolate gourmet most prestigious in the world. Pacari is currently sold in 47 countries and has been award-winning On numerous occasions.
The secret of their success is the delicate treatment they give to their products, quality is their main bet and it is served in the form of Tablets.
It is a product of fair Trade and, in addition, they boast of being the only chocolate company in the world that works with biodynamic cocoa. This, in addition to an ethical commitment, shows a qualitative leap in the final result of the work because it means that it operates without intermediaries with the producer and that the latter, in turn, works taking into account the most minimal interactions of nature.
They are organic bars soy, dairy and gluten free and they differ by trading with chocolate “in raw”, without processing. Through its pieces the healthier side of chocolate, which is naturally sweetened with pieces of fruit.
Neuhaus
Jean Nauhaus opened in 1857 together with his brother-in-law a bakery-pharmacy in the galleries Royale Saint Humbert in Belgium. Since chocolate was attributed with healing properties, it was common for the tablets to be sold in pharmacies.
Nahaus and his partner were among the first to try chocolate for a taste sweeter. Experiments with different combinations of flavors became a constant that was displacing cough syrups, thus, one of the most prestigious gourmet chocolate companies was born.
Its founders did not know then that it would be his grandson who would revolutionize the chocolate industry when he decided to fill his pieces of nuts and, without knowing it, invented the praline in 1912. This discovery led to another discovery that continues to this day, the boxes of chocolates, created to avoid damaging the pralines in transport.
They currently market more than a thousand products different in more than 40 countries and they became one of the most recognized historical brands of gourmet chocolates.
Godiva
The epicurean chocolate par excellence, cared piece by piece from flavor to design. It owes its name to Lady Godiva, a Saxon lady of exceptional beauty and goodness, according to legend.
Its original store opened on the Grand Place in Brussels in 1926, from there the famous Chocolate Route from the Belgian capital.
Today Godiva manages more than 450 “shops” of chocolate around the world and its products are sold in more than 10.000 establishments.
Its flagship product is Gold Ballotín, a golden box that houses a delicious assortment of its most coveted delicatessen.
Christopher Norman
This New York brand sweetens American and international cuisine from 1990 and it enjoys international prestige for the care with which it treats the quality of each tablet.
His pieces are hand painted one by one, the firm gives special relevance to both designs and innovation. Immersing yourself in the universe of this chocolatier is a unique and renewing sensory experience that hooks you, since they bet on the mixture of impossible flavors and limited editions.
Personalities such as the likes of Christopher Norman have placed their trust in Christopher Norman Oprah Winfrey a Martas Stewart. The latest limited edition on the market is dedicated to the musician John Down, who resumes his career after two years of hiatus with the initiative of releasing a line of chocolates inspired by his impasse.
Mariebelle
Maribel Lieberman, the founder of this candy house, “puts her soul” in each product. His main inspiration is his mother, his next claim, to house in his pieces the flavors from all over the world.
He began his professional career in the world of fashion, but it did not take long to realize that his message would be expressed more fully through pastry.
In the year 2002 opened its store in SoHo and since then, MarieBelle New York has not stopped reinventing itself and growing in prestige, in her boutique chocolate is perceived as a sensory experience in which cocoa, pistachios, tea and battlements shape a very particular universe.
So good
This colorful factory is defined as “evolutive Mexican chocolate shop”, it is a bet of the Brazilian chef José Ramón Castillo, who wanted to soak his chocolates of Aztec culture.
En “The Guide to Chocolate Crunchers”, the French chocolate bible, included this young brand as one of the best in the world. Mexican institutions also knew how to recognize the prestige of Castillo’s works, naming him as the main exponent of cocoa and chocolate in the country. His knowledge on the subject earned him the authorship of a book «Cocoa“, considered “World heritage book»By UNESCO.
One of his main achievements was rremove the butters and dairy of the bonbon and its pairings include a multitude of exotic fruits of striking shapes and colors.