Do you consider yourself a chocolate connoisseur? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Check out these appetising facts about your favourite sweet treat! 

1. The Mayans and Aztecs used cacao to make a bitter drink of roasted and ground cocoa beans, water and spices called xocolatl. This was no common man’s beverage. It was reserved for the nobility and warriors.  
2. In the ancient days, cacao was considered more valuable than gold dust and was even used as currency to purchase food and clothing.  
3. Chocolate is healthy! It has antibacterial properties. By consuming pure cocoa, you can prevent tooth decay. But if you eat a lot of chocolate, you can get cavities and a tummy ache.  
4. A study by the Hasselt University in Belgium found that diffusing the scent of chocolate in bookshops boosted sales!  
5. Are you tired, but want to keep playing? Try chocolate milk for an energy boost!  
6. Did you know? A candy company in California, USA, made a chocolate lollipop that weighed a world-record breaking 3,176.5 kg. That’s as heavy as a hippo!  
7. A study found that hot chocolate tastes sweeter when you drink it from an orange-coloured cup rather than a white one. Don’t believe it? Try it at home!  
8. In Belgium, there are postage stamps that smell and taste like chocolate.  
9. In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés reported that Aztec ruler Moctezuma II drank 50 cups of chocolate a day.  
10. The world’s biggest chocolate festival, Salon du Chocolat, is held in Paris, France annually. It features a fashion show where the clothes are made of chocolate!  
11. Ooty, Tamil Nadu, is home to India’s first ever chocolate museum. This must-visit spot features mannequins dressed in chocolate clothes and over a hundred different types of chocolates on display. To add icing to the cake, you can handcraft your own chocolate and gift your friends with the help of their DIY kit! 

Sources:

10 things you probably didn’t know about chocolates | Insider

National Library of Medicine

Guinness World Records

Medical News Today

BBC

The secret history of chocolate | National Geographic Kids

Tamil Nadu Tourism