Facts on Chocolate

  1. “Chocolate” comes from the Aztec “cacahuatl” or “xocolatl,” meaning “bitter water.”
  2. The word “cocoa” was the result of the misspelling of “cacao.”
  3. A cocoa pod contains around 40 to 45 cocoa beans. It takes from 135 to 270 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate.
  4. It has been reported that Napoleon carried chocolate with him, and always ate some when he needed quick energy.
  5. Chocolate has over 500 individual flavor components. Strawberry and vanilla each have less than half that much.
  6. Although the myth has existed for generations, chocolate does not cause acne.
  7. One ounce of baking chocolate or cocoa contains 10% of the U.S. RDA of iron.
  8. 98% of the world’s cocoa is produced by just 15 countries.
  9. Cocoa butter melts at slightly below normal body temperature, which is why chocolate will melt in your mouth.
  10. Per capita, Americans eat 12 pounds of chocolate annually. That's pretty far behind the world champion Swiss, who eat 21 pounds per capita.
  11. Americans eat 2.8 billion pounds of chocolate each year, almost half the world’s production.
  12. Americans spend $7 billion on chocolate each year.
  13. Over half the candy sold in the U.S. is chocolate.
  14. The theobromine in chocolate helps boost low blood-sugar levels, which is why so many people turn to chocolate when they're feeling sort of woozy, like in the late afternoon.