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The Mayans establish cocoa plantations. Cocoa beans are used as payment and units of calculations in Mayan culture.
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While on a trip to the new world, Chrisopher Columbus tasts Cocoa for the first time. Columbus brings the beans to the unimpressed King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
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Antonio Carletti, an Italian traveler, discovers chocolate while in Spain. He brings the chocolate back to Italy from which it then spreads to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
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Dr. Joseph Fry from England uses a steam engine to grind cocoa beans. He then begins manufacturing chocolate in large factories.
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Francis Fry, grandson of Joseph Fry, adds cocoa butter and sugar to coca powder. This created a paste that could be put into a mold. This is the first known chocolate bar.
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Richard Cadbury creates the first heart-shaped chocolate and candy box for Valentine's Day.
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Daniel Peter discovers how to combine milk and cocoa powder creating the first milk chocolate.
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Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle fron the Nestle Company. They become the world's largest producer of chocolate.
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Milton Hershey sells his first Hershey Bar in Pennsylvania. He uses mass production techniques which makes chocolate affordable to large masses.
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Leo Hirschfield makes the first tootsie roll.
