The Journey of the Bean: From Cacao to Chocolate

The journey of the cacao bean, from which we make chocolate, is full of incidence.

It came from South America, the ancient Maya of Mesoamerica in the Aztec empire, and travelled on to Spain, and then to the Caribbean, Martinique, Saint Lucia, and the Dominican Republic. Chocolate became a valuable commodity, earning status through the place of the chocolate house in nineteenth-century European politics. A book to enchant the historian, and, with a full complement of chocolate recipes, to please the cook.

Samuel Mutter has a First Class degree in Geography and a Masters in Politics and International Relations.