Best Chocoalte in London

* French - is still considered one of the best and refined chocolate in the world due to the fact that there are strict regulations not to use vegetable or animal fat when the chocolate is manufactured; as a result only cocoa butter is the ingredient that can be used giving the end product a rich original flavor of exotic cocoa.

More than this, French chocolate contains a minimum of 43% cocoa liquor and most of the chocolate products have a pure content of cocoa liquor. For instance, French dark chocolate as well as bonbons have up to 82% pure cocoa liquor, this is why the French chocolate taste is so rich and luxurious.

* Belgian - is considered the best of gourmet chocolate. Based on excellent quality ingredients as well as traditional techniques of manufacturing, Belgian chocolate belongs to its own distinct place that makes it so unique among the wide range of chocolate of mass production in the world.

More than 170,000 tons of chocolate are produced annually in Belgium and innumerable chocolate shops are spread throughout the country, such as they are in Brussels where many of these shops line along the street. Only in 18th century was chocolate made known and popular in Belgium.

With the 20th century, chocolate became a confectionary and many producers started to release on the market the chocolate gift called praline - a great assortment of chocolates with various flavored fillings, such as nougat, coffee, hazelnut, cream, nuts and berries. Pralines were given the patent under the name of "Ballotin" and thus they became Ballotin de Pralines.

The History of Chocolate

Chocolate as we know it today has ancient and mystical roots. This helped cut prices and improve the quality of chocolate by squeezing out some of the cocoa butter and giving it a smoother consistency.

Van Houten was the first to add alkaline salts to powdered cocoa to make it mix better with water. His alkalizing process became known as "Dutching."

In 1847, Joseph Fry & Son discovered a way to mix some of the cocoa butter back into the "dutched" chocolate, and added sugar, creating a paste that could be molded. The result was the first modern chocolate bar.

Fry & Son, along with the Cadbury Brothers, displayed chocolates for eating at an exhibition in Bingley Hall, Birmingham, England in 1849.

Prince Albert's Exposition in London in 1851 was the first time that the public was introduced to bonbons, chocolate creams, and caramels.

John Cadbury was the first to mass-market boxes of chocolate candies. In 1861, his son, Richard Cadbury, created the first known heart-shaped candy box for Valentine's Day.

In 1879, Daniel Peter and Henri Nestl? joined together to form the Nestle Company. Also in that year, Rodolphe Lindt of Berne, Switzerland, produced a more smooth and creamy chocolate that melted on the tongue by invented the "conching" machine.

In 1926, Belgian chocolatier, Joseph Draps started the Godiva Company to compete with Hershey's and Nestle's American market.

Today, the chocolate industry is an ever-growing, $50 billion dollar-a-year worldwide business. This industry is spread across five continents, and is dominated by a small number of sellers. U.S. companies such as Mars and Hershey's alone generate $13 billion a year in chocolate sales and account for two thirds of all U.S.