Whenmostofushearthewordchocolatetheverbthatcomestomindisprobably"eat"not"drink"andthemostproperadjectivewouldseemtobe"sweet".Butforabout90percentofchocolate'slonghistoryitwasstrictlyabeverage(

　　Whenmostofushearthewordchocolatetheverbthatcomestomindisprobably"eat"not"drink"andthemostproperadjectivewouldseemtobe"sweet".Butforabout90percentofchocolate'slonghistoryitwasstrictlyabeverage(饮料)，andsugardidn'thaveanythingtodowithit.

　　Theoriginofchocolate

　　Manymodernhistorianshaveestimatedthatchoco?latehasbeenaroundforabout2，000yearsbutrecentresearchsuggeststhatitmaybeevenolder.

　　InthebookTheTrueHistoryofChocolate，au?thorsSophieandMichaelCoeprovethattheearliestlin?guistic(语言学的)evidenceofchocolateconsumptiondatesbackthreeorevenfourthousandyears.

　　Valuableandfashionablechocolatebeverage

　　It'shardtodiscoverexactlywhenchocolatewasbornbutit'sclearthatitwascherishedfromthestart.Forseveralcenturiesinpre-modernLatinAmericaca?caobeanswereconsideredvaluableenoughtobeusedascurrency.100beanscouldpurchaseagoodhenaccord?ingtoa16th-centuryAztecdocument.

　　Sweetenedchocolatedidn'tappearuntilEuropeansdiscoveredtheAmericansandsampled(品尝)thenativecuisine.Chocolatedidn'tsuittheforeigners'tasteatfirst―onedescribeditinhiswritingsas"abitterdrinkforpigs"―butoncemixedwithhoneyorcanesugaritquicklybecamepopularthroughoutSpain.Bythe17thcenturychocolatewasafashionabledrinkthroughoutEurope，believedtohavenutritious，medicinalfunc?tions.Butitremainedlargelyaprivilegeoftherichuntiltheinventionofthesteamenginemademassproductionpossibleinthelate1700s.

　　Thebirthofsolidchocolate

　　In1828，aDutchchemistfoundawaytomakepowderedchocolate.Hisproductbecameknownas"Dutchcocoa"anditsoonledtothecreationofsolidchocolate.In1847，JosephFrycreatedthefirstmodernchocolatebar.By1868，alittlecompanycalledCadburywasmarketingboxesofchocolatecandiesinEngland.

　　Milkchocolatehitthemarketafewyearslater.Prosperouschocolateindustry

　　InAmericachocolatewassovaluedduringtheRevolutionaryWarthatitwasusedinsteadofwages.Evennowstatisticsshowthatthehumblecacaobeanisstillapowerfuleconomicforce.Chocolatemanufactur?ingisamorethan4-billion-dollarindustryintheUni