Sweet History: Dorchester and the Chocolate ... - Bostonian Society

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SWEET HISTORY: Dorchester and the Chocolate Factorywww.bostonhistory.org/bakerschocolate/Baker’s products into their local markets. By 1925 key regional offices were located inNew York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Montreal, and Winnipeg. 115Grocery StoresWalter Baker encouraged the development of in-store displays early on with theintroduction of “Spiced Cocoa Sticks.” In 1840, Baker wrote to a distributor stating hewanted good tinfoil used for the wrapping of his product. He explained that “the grocersgenerally pile it up crossways on their counters in their windows or in triangles, andit is an attractive object to the eye.” 116 He wanted to make sure that grocers sold morechocolate by creating noticeable displays for their clientele.Vending MachinesIn 1891 Baker’s began selling its chocolate bars from early coin-operated vendingmachines made by Williams Automatic Machine Company. These machines probablydispensed Baker’s sweet chocolate bars such as Caracas, German’s, and Century Sweet.The small size of these machines enabled chocolate to be sold in single quantities, in awider variety of locations anywhere around the country. No longer would one be limitedto buying chocolate bars in the grocery stores. 117HOW CHOCOLATE IS MADEThe scientific name for the cacao tree (also called cocoa) is Theobroma, which means“food of the gods.” For anyone who loves chocolate, eating it can certainly be a heavenlyexperience. The process cacao beans endure to become chocolate is part artistry, partscience, and part patience. This process also lies at the heart of an industry with global,economical and political significance.Introduction to the Chocolate IndustryFrom its origin in South America to the tables of Europe and America, chocolate hasa long history. As European countries colonized different areas of the world, theyestablished cacao to ensure a constant supply of chocolate. Cacao trees only grow intropical climates and they require a labor-intensive process to harvest. Consequently,plantation owners turned to the slave trade as a means of supplying cheap labor.As the popularity of chocolate soared, new production processes developed. Theseinnovations helped turn chocolate into an inexpensive luxury people of all social classes115 Ledger 1834-1841, A-1, Walter Baker & Company Collection, Baker Library, Harvard BusinessSchool. Sampling of shipping destinations throughout ledger; Letterhead, letter dated 12 September 1925, Advertising-Circulars-Labels-Clippings-Etc. Folder, Walter Baker & Company Collection, Baker Library, Harvard Business School.Letter used to reference all the regional offices printed the standard letterhead only, does not refer to the content.116Millar, Calendar, 32.117Millar, Calendar, 54; John A. Williams assignor for the Williams Automatic Machine Company,“Automatic Vending-Machine,” Patent No. 430,499. U.S. Patent Office [online]; available from http://www.uspto.gov;Internet, accessed 18 July 2005; Kraft Foods, Historical Chronology, 1-2.36 of 76© 2005 The Bostonian Society. Nothing from the site can be reproduced without specific written permission issued by:The Bostonian Society • 206 Washington Street • Boston, MA 02109-1773. Any questions, call 617-720-1713.
SWEET HISTORY: Dorchester and the Chocolate Factorywww.bostonhistory.org/bakerschocolate/could enjoy. Today cacao is still grown in many of the same regions as generations ago,and it is consumed by people throughout the world.OriginsThe ancient Maya are believed to be the first people to make chocolate, over 2,000 yearsago. Cacao trees, native to Central and South America, provided the beans used to make abitter, spicy chocolate drink. In the fourteenth century the Aztecs dominated CentralMexico and they developed a sophisticated trade network of cacao until the Spanishconquered the region in 1521. Conquistador Hernán Cortés is often credited with introducingcacao to Spain in 1528, but no one truly knows when and how cacao traveled to Europe. 118Cacao TradeSpain could not keep chocolate a secret for very long and the rest of Europe quickly fellin love with the drink. By the seventeenth century, as Britain, France and the Netherlandscolonized countries around the world, they established cacao plantations in tropicallocations such as Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Venezuela, and the West Indies, respectively. Theseequatorial areas were critical to developing cacao production because cacao trees thrivein tropical regions, which provide continual moisture and a temperate climate. 119Once a trade network was established to keep Europe well-supplied in chocolate, Europeanland-owners in the Caribbean looked to Africa for their workforce. For over two hundredyears cacao plantations relied on enslaved Africans for labor. Cacao was one of manyproducts in the triangular trade network between Europe, West Africa, and the Caribbean. 120Chocolate ConsumptionOriginally chocolate was exclusively consumed as a drink. Because Europeans did notlike the bitter taste, they added sugar and cinnamon. Gradually chocolate was mixed withmilk instead of water to produce a much lighter and smoother drink, and in 1657 the firstknown chocolate house opened in London. Like taverns, and later coffee houses, chocolatehouses were comfortable places for socializing. 121Until the mid-eighteenth century chocolate was an expensive drink, a luxury reserved forthe wealthy. The main reason for the high cost was that cacao was ground by hand. The118International Cocoa Organization, ”Information on the Origins/History of Cocoa and Its SpreadAround the World,” International Cocoa Organization, 17 April 1998 [online]; available from http://www.icco.org/questions/origin2.htm; Internet, accessed 25 October 2005; The Field Museum, “Chocolate: A European Sweet-1521-1600,” Chocolate: The Exhibition, 2002 [online]; available from http://www.fieldmuseum .org/chocolate/history_european 2.html; Internet, accessed 25 October 2005; The Field Museum, “Chocolate: A MesoamericanLuxury-250-900 C.E.,” Chocolate: The Exhibition, 2002 [online]; available from http://www.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/history_ mesoamerican4.html; Internet, accessed 25 October 2005; Coe and Coe, True History, 129.119The Field Museum, “Chocolate: A European Sweet-1600-1750,” Chocolate: The Exhibition, 2002[online]; available from http://www.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/history_european8.html; Internet, accessed 25October 2005; Coe and Coe, True History, 19; International Cocoa Organization, “Where is Cocoa Produced?”International Cocoa Organization, March 2000 [online]; available from http://www.icco.org/questions/production2.htm; Internet, accessed 25 October 2005; Wikipedia, “Triangular Trade,” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia[online]; available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_Trade; Internet, accessed 27 October 2005.120The Field Museum, “Chocolate: A European Sweet-1600-1750,” Chocolate: The Exhibition.121The Field Museum, “Chocolate: A European Sweet-1600-1750,”.37 of 76© 2005 The Bostonian Society. Nothing from the site can be reproduced without specific written permission issued by:The Bostonian Society • 206 Washington Street • Boston, MA 02109-1773. Any questions, call 617-720-1713.
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