A History of Chocolate

 

 A brief summary of the history of chocolate which I wrote for history. Enjoy!

A History of Chocolate (9/30/2014)

By Lela

1519-1913

In 1519 Cortez sailed to Mexico and met the Maya. Among many things he discovered about them one was that their royalty drank a rich drink of brewed chocolate beans. Cortez took the drink back to Spain and the Maya began to spread north establishing cocoa plantations. They even used cocoa beans for money. The Aztec found the Mayans using it and began to take it for their own. The Aztecs called it “xocalatl” because it was a warm and bitter drink.

Meanwhile in Europe the beverage had become very popular among the high classes and they began adding sweeteners like vanilla. Cocoa also began to be used as a medicine. In London a Frenchman opened the first chocolate house, charging 15 shilling per pound. 

John Hannan, an Irishman, introduced cocoa beans to the United States in 1865 from the West Indies in 1765. He partnered with Dr. James Baker, an American, and the two created a mill that was famous for making BAKER’S ® chocolate. Thirty years later Dr. Joseph Fry employed a steam engine in order to grind coffee beans on a larger, factory scale.

In 1819 François Louis Callier, inventor of Swiss chocolate, opened the first Swiss chocolate factory. In 1828 Coenraad Johannes van Houten copyrighted a cocoa bean press which improved the industry making chocolate in bars and helped reduce costs, thus cutting prices. In 1847 Joseph Fry and his son made the first modern chocolate bar.

In 1851 Americans were introduced to bonbons, boiled sweets and caramels. Richard Cadbury created the first known heart shaped box of chocolate candies and later John Cadbury began mass-marketing them. Daniel Peter of Vevey experimented with milk chocolate for eight years to create milk chocolate worth eating. In 1879 Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle form the Nestle company. Rodolphe Lindt of Berne invented  a conching machine which created more creamy, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate. In 1897 the first known recipe for brownies appears in a Sears and Roebuck catalogue. A Canadian, Arthur Ganong, marketed the first nickel chocolate bar. In 1913 a Swiss named Jules Sechaud introduced a machine for filling chocolates.

 

A Ramble (Part 2)

Continued from this post.

What is a Friend? (Part 2)

My American Dictionary of the English Language (Noah Webster 1828) defines a friend as:

1.      One who is attached to another by affection; one who entertains for another sentiments of esteem, respect and affection, which lead him to desire his company, and to seek to promote his happiness and prosperity; opposed to foe or enemy.

 

So what does the Bible say about friends?

Psalm 18:24 says: A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says: Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Proverbs 27:17 states: Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Job 6:4: “He who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

John 15:13 says: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

And that’s only a few short verses!

 

 So, does have expectations and seeking a good friend mean you quit the relationship as soon as things get a little messy or they wrong you? Uh, NO! How will you every have any healthy relationships if you walk away the moment you begin to be tested?

If that relationship is really worth something to you, you have got to stick with it! What happened to that expectation of them always being there for you? Shouldn’t you be there for them as well? In order to have a good friend you need to be a good friend. Don’t be that person who people come away from feeling angry, hurt or misused.

True friends are hard to come by. Yes! And that’s what makes it so totally worth it! You have to work at cultivating those relationships and keeping them healthy. 

“Nothing worthwhile should be easy. If it’s easy, we don’t value it.” ~ David Eddings

So recap:

1.      People are gonna be people. In other words NOT perfect.

2.      Have reasonable standards for your friendships.

3.      Live up to your reasonable standards.

4.      Have Christ as your best friend FIRST.

So go make some friends!

 

A Ramble

What is a Friend?

Lately the topic of friendship has come up frequently at my house. Below are some of the conclusions I have come to.

I often find the question “What is a friend?” surfacing in my mind.

First off, a friend isn’t perfect. People just aren’t (perfect, I mean). And besides, I think trying to live up to a perfect friend would be discouraging.

I’ve been told that my expectations of a friend are too high and that I should lower them to accommodate people. Just because my expectations are high doesn’t mean I will dump you for not being flawless. I’m not faultless myself.

What I expect in a friend is loyalty and honesty. I expect someone who won’t stab me in the back when someone “cooler” comes along. I expect someone who won’t betray me to benefit themselves.  I expect someone who won’t kick when I’m down or freeze me out.  I expect someone who will stick for me and not join the bullies. I expect someone who does me a favor without expecting anything in return. Someone who will help me when I’m struggling with life and is not just there for the good times. I expect someone who will respect and love me despite my issues.

That’s the friend I try to be.

I don’t see how that is too much to expect from someone who wants to call me their friend. If you don’t have any standards for relationships in your life you’ll settle for any self-serving, bottom-feeder what wants to prey on you, emotionally and/or physically. Without standards you devalue yourself. You’re allowing yourself to be a victim or, as my mom likes to put it, a doormat.  You are made in the image of God so I am positive you’re worth more than a doormat.

As humans we feel the need to be valued and validated by other humans. We try so hard to impress and “fit in with the crowd” but we are usually left unsatisfied and hurt.

The most constant friend I’ve ever had is Christ. I talk to Him every night before bed. Sometimes I just talk about my day, sometimes I pray for other people, sometimes I pray for myself, sometimes I listen and sometimes I just marvel at His extreme multi-tasking.  He is always, always there. So, if you are desperate for a true friend right now, He is there for you.

Also, God needs to be the center of your friendships.



TO BE CONTINUED.

Spelling Tips

Gotta love Messy Mondays.

Just Hard

Some days are just hard. Hard for whatever reason.

Yep, I get that. Today is one of those days for me.

Sometimes you just feel so alone in your pain. No one gets you. No one wants to get you. You're doing everything you can not to think about your pain and because of that everything hurts so much more.

It hurts to think.

It hurts to breathe.

You just want to quit life, move away from yourself and start over.

Can we just start over?

No, life doesn't work that way.

But can't we just stop and pause? Wait for things to get better? Hide until the hard stuff moves on?

Nope. You're experiencing it for a reason. Yeah, you heard. There's a reason.

A reason?

For sure. Maybe you're having to go through this to teach you something you weren't getting. Maybe you're going through this so you can be there for someone else when they go under. I don't know. It's just a bad day, not a bad life.

Don't give up. Someone still cares. 

I hope this encourages you. <3

Don't Give Up by Josh Groban