Ensure that the cocoa has not been bulked up with flour or cheaper ingredients. The best variety, known as Caracas, is from Venezuela. Mix cocoa with hot milk or boiling water to make a drink ...

In the 1850s, steam-powered machines allowed for the mass production of cocoa powder. Today, over 4.5 million tons of cocoa are consumed around the world every year. Cocoa powder is made from ...

Diaz del Castillo, an officer with Hernan Cortez wrote: "From time to time the men of Montezuma's guard brought him, in cups of pure gold, a drink made from the cocoa-plant, which they said he ...