Delicious Facts about Chocolates

We all know that Chocolate is one of the best things on earth.  We eat chocolates when we are depressed, hungry or when we feel good.  Chocolates are inseparable part of our daily life but there are few delicious facts about these chocolates.  Here are some of the delicious chocolate facts.

Amazing and delicious facts about Chocolates

• The chocolate contains phenylethylamine, which is a naturally occuring amino acid which has aphrodisiacal effects and is even said to be able to cure hang overs.
• The first chocolate bar suitable for wide spread consumption was produced by the Fry's chocolate factory which is located in Bristol in England in the year 1847.
• Nearly 17,000 people are employed in the Chocolate industry in Belgium.
• Do you know that one chocolate can give you enough energy to walk upto 150 feet?
• The American army together with Hershey improved the heat resistance of chocolates in order to with stand the hot sun during desert storms. These chocolate bars remained solid even at temperatures of up to 140 degrees F.
•  The first machine-made chocolate was produced in Barcelona, Spain in the year 1780.
• The main ingredient for chocolate are technically cacao beans, but they are know throughout the cocoa industry as cocoa beans because of mis spelling.
• Chocolate was included in World War-II soldier rations.  According to army specifications, it was designed to taste just " a little better than a boiled potato" so the soldiers would not eat it too quickly.
• Switzerland had the biggest chocolate consumption per capita in 2012.  Each swiss person ate an average of 25 pounds of this.  Americans ended up 15th with just 12 pounds chocolate per capita.
• The cacao has been around millions of years and is one of the oldest of the natural foods. 
• The Ivory coast is by far the world's leading producer of cocoa beans.  Nearly 37% of all the cocoa production in the world comes from Ivory Coast.
• The most valuable chocolate bar in the world is a CAdburry's chocolate that is over a 100 years old and went on Captain Robert Scott's first Discovery expedition to the Antarctic. The bar which was 4 inches long wrapped and uneaten was bought for $687 by an anonymous buyer at Christie's, London in 2001.
• The largest and oldest chocolate company in the USA is Hershey's founded by Milton S. Hershey in 1894.  This company produces one billion pounds of chocolate products each year.
• The largest chocolate weighed 12,770 pounds and was created by Thomtons pic in Alfreton, Derbyshire, UK on 7th October, 2011.  The chocolate bar was 13 feet 1.48 inches long and same width and was 1 foot 1.78 inches thick.
• Chocolate is full of anti oxidants.  Especially the dark chocolate which is rich in flavenoids - anti oxidants that help to prevent heart diseases.
• Cocoa trees can live upto 200 years but they only produce usable cocoa beans for 25 years.