History of chocolate in Spain

The history of chocolate in Spain is part of the culinary history of Spain since the 16th century, when the colonisation of the Americas began and the cocoa plant was discovered in regions of Mesoamerica, until the present. After the conquest of the Aztec Empire, cocoa as a commodity travelled by boat from the port of New Spain to the Spanish coast. The first such voyage to Europe occurred at an unknown date in the 1520s. But it was only in the 17th century that regular trade began from the port of Veracruz, opening a maritime trade route that would supply the new demand from Spain, and later from other European countries.^[1]

In contrast to other new culinary ingredients brought from the Americas, the acceptance and growth in popularity of chocolate in Spain was rapid, reaching its peak at the end of the 16th century.^[2] Although chocolate was not immediately adopted by other European societies, it eventually made its way to becoming a high commodity. Once the Europeans realised the societal value of chocolate, they started to incorporate it more into their diet.^[3]

From the early stages, the cocoa was sweetened with sugar cane, which the Spanish were the first to popularise in Europe. In pre-Columbus America chocolate was flavoured with peppers and was a mixture of both bitter and spicy flavours. This made it an acquired taste and limited its appeal to the Spanish conquistadors, who were soon encouraged to sweeten it with sugar brought from the Iberian Peninsula in addition to heating it.

Over a 100-year period since its first appearance in the ports of Andalusia, chocolate became popular as a drink in Spain, where it was served to the Spanish monarchy. But for a time the formula was unknown in the rest of Europe. Later, chocolate spread from Spain to the rest of Europe, with the first countries to adopt it being Italy and France.

The great popularity of the drink in Spanish society from that time until the 19th century is attested to in various reports written by travellers who visited the Iberian peninsula. It was said that "chocolate is to the Spanish what tea is to the English".^[4] In this way chocolate was converted into a national symbol.^[5] The unusual fondness for this drink meant that coffee remained relatively unpopular in Spain compared to other European countries.^[6]

In Spain, chocolate was exclusively considered a refreshing drink, and it was rarely used in other ways—though there are older Spanish dishes that use cocoa. After the Spanish Civil War the custom declined in favour of coffee consumption.^[7] In modern Spain, traces of the history of the drink can be seen in the chocolate companies, the chocolate shops and museums. The Spanish also mixed their sugared chocolate drink with milk, just as coffee is mixed with milk. Other ways the Spanish served chocolate was in its natural candy (dulce) drop or "cluster" form which is naturally occurring due to its high cocoa butter content.