Chocolate is more than a beverage, more than a confection. To eat and drink chocolate is to share a common connection through time; from the first domestication of cacao trees in the western Amazon forests, throughout American history into the 21st century. Cocoa was an important food in early North America. Chocolate was a military ration during the American Revolutionary War. George and Martha Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin all drank chocolate. Chocolate was drunk as a medicine during the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and on the western overland trails by California Gold Rush miners. Chocolate was a common food desired by soldiers and civilians alike during the period of the American Civil War. Chocolate became both a beverage and a food of choice for the residents of a new nation. You become part of history, too, by consuming this chocolate of yesteryear, whether as cocoa in a 17th-18th century hot chocolate drink, nibbling on the sticks, or grating one of the bars and using the flakes to flavor your favorite cake or ice cream. You keep the heritage alive by sharing a part of American history with your family.

Photo courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation