Timeline

Chocolate Timeline: 4,000 Years in One Scroll

Chocolate has been a drink, a currency, a luxury and an everyday treat. Here are the moments that shaped it. Early dates are approximate and based on archaeological research.

A painted Maya vase showing monkeys beside a cacao tree

Maya vase with a cacao tree: Daderot, CC0

  1. About 3300 BCE

    Earliest known cacao use

    Traces of cacao found on pottery in Ecuador's upper Amazon, the oldest evidence so far.

  2. About 1900 to 1500 BCE

    Cacao in Mesoamerica

    Cacao residues in vessels in Mexico and Central America show early cacao drinks.

  3. 250 to 900 CE

    Maya cacao culture

    Cacao drinks appear in Maya art and writing; beans are also used in trade.

    Source: britannica.com
  4. 1500s

    Cacao reaches Spain

    Spanish travellers bring cacao to Europe, where it is sweetened with sugar.

  5. 1600s

    Chocolate houses

    Drinking chocolate becomes fashionable across Europe; London's chocolate houses open from the 1650s.

  6. 1828

    Cocoa press

    Van Houten patents a press that separates cocoa butter and powder.

  7. 1847

    First modern chocolate bar

    J. S. Fry and Sons in Bristol makes a moulded eating chocolate bar.

  8. 1875

    Milk chocolate

    Daniel Peter perfects milk chocolate in Vevey, Switzerland.

  9. 1879

    Conching

    Rodolphe Lindt invents the conche; Cadbury moves to Bournville.

  10. 1900

    The Hershey bar

    Milton Hershey launches mass-produced milk chocolate in the US.

  11. 1905

    Dairy Milk

    Cadbury launches Dairy Milk in Britain.

  12. 1912

    The Belgian praline

    Jean Neuhaus II creates filled chocolates in Brussels.

  13. 1930s

    White chocolate

    Commercial white chocolate appears in Switzerland.

  14. 1938

    Chocolate chip cookies

    Ruth Wakefield's Toll House cookies spark a baking classic.

  15. 2000s

    Craft chocolate boom

    Small bean to bar makers spread, naming farms and origins.

  16. 2017

    Ruby chocolate

    Barry Callebaut presents naturally pink ruby chocolate.

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Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources (updated Oct 12, 2026). Spot an error? Email hello@fireempireshop.com.

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