Chocolate Conquers Spain
It was not until Cortes returned to Spain in 1528 that the King and Queen took notice. Unlike Columbus, Cortes brought not only the beans but the recipe and the equipment necessary to make the chocolate beverage. For several decades, cocoa was mostly a Spanish secret, but then its popularity quickly spread to the other countries of Europe. Some say the first chocolate makers were monks hidden away in monasteries who mistakenly shared their “secret” with their French counterparts.
Once cocoa started catching on, Spanish cooks experimented with the recipe and added sugar to sweeten it.
Chocolate Arrives in France
In 1615, cocoa found its way into the court of the King Louis the Thirteenth of France at a royal wedding. His son, Louis the Fourteenth, was not a great cocoa fancier, but he played a major role in popularizing the drink. In 1659, he granted David Chaillou a ‘royal authorization’ to open the first chocolaterie in Paris. Chaillou roasted the beans in a pan and ground them the same way the Mayans and the Aztecs did, but that was about to change.