Chocolate played an important role in the diet of colonial Americans, whether wealthy or of average means. The British Royal Governor of Virginia, Lord Botetourt, kept more than 20 pounds of chocolate in his bedchamber. The “Will” of Williamsburg, carpenter, James Wray, listed 50 pounds of “chocolate nuts” (cocoa beans) among his personal possessions. Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1785 that in his view, chocolate would prevail over coffee and tea in American preferences. Wealthy colonists sometimes had their chocolate hand-ground for them. But most chocolate consumers, wealthy or not, purchased 1-pound cakes of semi-prepared chocolate commonly manufactured in Boston, New York, Philadelphia and elsewhere.

Photo courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation