GEOGRAPHY

VOLUME 91(3)
PAGES 218-226

Chocolate
Consumption,
Manufacturing and
Quality in Western

Geography 2006

Europe and the

United States
HEIKE C. ALBERTS AND
JULIE L. CIDELL
ABSTRACT: In this article we examine why
chocolate consumption patterns and
understandings of quality vary significantly
between the United States and Western Europe
on the one hand, and among western European
countries on the other hand. We argue that
different attitudes towards chocolate and
different marketing strategies by chocolate
manufacturers explain much of the difference
in consumption patterns. In many continental
European countries, chocolate is considered a
serious food rather than an indulgence, and
consumers demand both tradition and
innovation to a much larger degree than in the
United States. Differences in understandings of
quality can largely be explained through the
history of chocolate manufacturing in
individual countries, with many continental
European countries emphasising quality
ingredients and quality-oriented manufacturing
processes, while many British and US
manufacturers prioritise cost over quality.

218

Most people love chocolate, probably because it

has a particularly complex taste made up of more
than 500 flavour components, which is
considerably more than most other foods
(Albright, 1997; Richardson, 2003). Americans like
chocolate so much that they eat about five
kilograms of chocolate products per person per
year (Figure 1). This may seem like a large
amount, but Europeans consume significantly
more chocolate. The inhabitants of the main
chocolate-producing countries Switzerland,
Belgium, Germany, Austria and the United

Kingdom eat on average about ten kilograms of

chocolate per person every year (Zackowitz,
2004). Why do Western Europeans consume so
much more chocolate on average than Americans?
Why do Americans and the British have a different
understanding of what constitutes quality
chocolate from continental Europeans? We argue
that the history of chocolate manufacturing in
Europe explains how and why different notions
of quality developed. Each innovation in the
manufacturing process influenced understandings of quality in the chocolate industry in
the country in which the innovation was made.
These understandings of what constitutes quality
chocolate, in turn, influence how chocolate is
manufactured and marketed in the respective
countries. Finally, traditions in marketing and
manufacturing shape and are shaped by
consumer preferences, showing that cultural
and economic processes are at work simultaneously. Our analysis suggests that continental
European chocolate manufacturers dual focus on
traditional understandings of quality on the one
hand, and innovation in terms of flavours on the
other hand, make their chocolate bars so popular.
In both the United States and in Europe,
mass-market chocolate makes up the lions share
of the chocolate market, with gourmet chocolates
only accounting for 3.2% in the United States
(Hopkins, 2005). Originally, only small-scale
producers made chocolate, but in recent decades
the chocolate industry has become increasingly
dominated by just a few large, often multinational,
companies (Fold, 2000). Because of the
dominance of these large manufacturers, we limit
our analysis to mass-market chocolates. We
believe that they are a better indicator of general
trends in chocolate manufacturing and chocolate
consumption patterns than gourmet chocolates.
Chocolates produced by smaller companies often
cater to a more upscale market and reflect
regional variations in chocolate preferences,
complicating the patterns significantly. In this
article, however, our main concern is not with
sub-national differences, but variations among
countries. In our analysis we primarily contrast the
United States and Western Europe, but also
address differences among Western European
countries. In particular, it is important to point out
that the UKs chocolate industry has taken a
different path from continental Western European
producers. While the UK is distinctly European
in its chocolate consumption patterns, its
understandings of chocolate quality are more like
those of the US, resulting in a bitter dispute
among the member states of the European Union
about what constitutes quality chocolate.

Figure 1: Chocolate
consumption (kg). Source:
Zackowitz, 2004.

12

Kilograms

10
8

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6
4
2

Geography 2006

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itz

Sw

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Au

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UK

Background
There is no shortage of publications about
chocolate. Numerous books and articles both
popular and academic focus on nutrition and
health aspects and seem to be split in their overall
assessment of chocolate, with some authors
condemning it for its high sugar content that can
lead to weight-gain and tooth decay, and others
praising chocolates positive health effects.
Another body of literature centres on cultural
histories of chocolate. The most well-known is
Coe and Coes The True History of Chocolate
(1996). This book describes how chocolate was
first invented as a spicy drink by the Olmec, Aztec
and Maya of Mesoamerica, but when introduced
in Europe after the Spanish Conquest of Mexico in
1519, it was mixed with sugar to better suit
European tastes. It then explains innovations in
chocolate making and modern commercial
production. Most other cultural histories of
chocolate draw heavily on this work, and are
therefore similar in content. There is also an
impressive array of recipe collections, some of
which are published by the chocolate companies
themselves to promote their products. There was
a flurry of publications about the chocolate
industry in the 1920s and 1950s, but since then
relatively little academic work has been done,
partly because the chocolate industry is so
secretive about recipes and production methods
that it is virtually impossible to conduct primary
research (Brenner, 2000). Exceptions include
Pottkers Crisis in Candyland (1995), which

m
en

US

examines in detail the history of the Mars

Company. Similarly, Terrio (2000) provides an indepth analysis of chocolate manufacturing in
France. Szogyis Chocolate: Food of the gods
(1997) is probably the only collection of
contributions addressing a wide range of
contemporary trends within the chocolate
industry, including regional differences and the
recent popularity of gourmet chocolates.
However, none of these works investigate the
main differences in chocolate consumption,
manufacturing and understandings of quality
between the United States and Western Europe to
explicitly tie these differences to the historical
development of chocolate manufacturing in these
countries.

The origins of chocolate

Cocoa grows on a tree called Theobroma cacao,
which literally translates as food of the gods. The
cocoa tree only flourishes between 20 north and
south, as it needs warm temperatures, year-round
moisture, and midges for pollination. Theobroma
cacao is an unusual tree as it flowers directly from
the trunk, rather than from the branches (Figure
2). The flowers develop into pods that contain 30
to 40 bitter-tasting beans surrounded by a sweet,
juicy pulp. When they are ripe, the pods are
harvested and opened by hand (Figure 3). Then
the pulp and beans are put in a heap under banana
leaves to ferment, resulting in the beans
developing the typical chocolate taste. The beans

219

liked their chocolate with foam. In order to

create it, the Spaniards invented the molinillo, a
stick twirled between the hands. As chocolate
drinking spread through Europe, the French
invented the chocolatire, or chocolate pot, to
serve it in style (Coe and Coe, 1996). Chocolate
drinking became an important ritual among the
European elite, with each country it spread to
making a contribution to that ritual. As demand
for cocoa beans increased, the colonial powers
started growing cocoa in other parts of their
empires, namely in South America (especially
Brazil), West Africa (especially Ghana and the
Ivory Coast), and Southeast Asia (especially
Indonesia) (Ullmann, 1997). Today, the largest
cocoa producers are all former colonies outside
Central America (Figure 4).

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Innovations in chocolate
manufacturing

Figure 2: Cocoa fruit. Photo: www.infozentrum-schoko.de

220

are then dried for transport (Coe and Coe, 1996;

Info-Zentrum Schokolade, 2005).
Cocoa first became popular among
Mesoamerican peoples such as the Olmec, Maya
and Aztec. They roasted the dried cocoa beans,
ground them and mixed them with water as well
as various spices, such as chilli. The resulting drink
was called xocoatl1, a mixture of the terms xoco
for bitter and atl for spicy (Info-Zentrum
Schokolade, 2005). As we know from images on
ceramics and in the Maya codices (books), the
Maya created foam on top of their drinking
chocolate by pouring it from one vessel into
another. Drinking chocolate was an important
part of numerous ceremonies. However, this was
not the only purpose cocoa served in
Mesoamerica both the Maya and the Aztec used
cocoa beans as a currency (Coe and Coe, 1996).
Conquistador Hernn Corts brought the
first cocoa from Central America to Europe. The
Spaniards had tasted Aztec drinking chocolate
during the Conquest of Mexico (1519), and held
differing views about its taste. Some liked the
Aztec drink, while others thought it was too bitter
and spicy. Most Spaniards preferred chocolate as a
hot drink, mixed with sugar and old-world spices
such as cinnamon. Like the Mesoamericans, they

While chocolate drinking spread quickly among

the European elite, it was not until the industrial
period that it became available to the general
population. The introduction of steam power
made the grinding of the cocoa beans more
efficient, and other technological breakthroughs
revolutionised chocolate manufacturing and
lowered its cost substantially (Ullmann, 1997).
These processes also had an important
geographical impact, as chocolate manufacturing
shifted from Spain and France, the countries
where chocolate first became popular, to the
northern and central European countries where
most of the innovations in the industrial age took
place (Coe and Coe, 1996).
The period of rapid innovation began in
1828, when Dutch chemist van Houten invented a
hydraulic press that made it possible to press the
cocoa butter from the cocoa bean. The remaining
dry chocolate mass could then be pulverised and
used as chocolate powder. Drinking chocolate
could now be produced cheaply and in large
quantities (Burleigh, 2002). About 20 years later,
in the UK, Fry found a way to make good use of
the cocoa butter that had thus far been a waste
product. He discovered that mixing the cocoa
powder with cocoa butter, instead of water,
allowed him to pour the resulting paste into a
mould to produce solid chocolate (Coe and Coe,
1996). The idea quickly caught on and other
chocolate manufacturers, including Cadbury in
the UK and Suchard in Switzerland, started

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Metric tonnes (thousands)

Figure 3: Opening the cocoa

fruit. Photo:
www.infozentrum-schoko.de

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
ry

Ivo

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sia

a
Co

In

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a
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Gh

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Ca

producing solid chocolate bars. Thus, technological innovations, combined with lower cocoa
prices due to imports from a large number of
colonies, completed the transformation of
chocolate from an elite drink to a food available to
the general population (Richardson, 2003;
Schokoladenmuseum, 2005).
Rather than making chocolate cheaper, the
next round of innovations improved the quality of
solid chocolate. In 1867, Nestl, a Swiss chemist,
discovered how to produce milk powder through
an evaporation process. Since it would not spoil

or

Ec

d
ua

zil

a
Br

Figure 4: Leading cocoa

producers. Source:
Zackowitz, 2004.

like fresh milk, milk powder allowed him to

produce milk chocolate, which quickly became
popular throughout Europe. The most significant
invention of this time, however, was made by
another Swiss, Lindt, in 1879. Lindt discovered
that kneading the chocolate with granite rollers
broke the cocoa into smaller particles, resulting
in a smoother chocolate. This conching process
significantly improved the quality of the
chocolate. To this day Swiss chocolate is
renowned for its rich taste and smoothness
(Ullmann, 1997).

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By the mid nineteenth century, a large

number of chocolate manufacturers had emerged
in Western Europe, especially in Switzerland,
Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and the UK.
Many companies that had started as small family
businesses relying on artisanal production of
individual chocolates grew into large companies
using industrial production methods. Over time, a
common understanding of what constituted
quality chocolate emerged. In Germany, the
Stollwerck Company started its production in the
1860s. For many years to come, Stollwerck was at
the forefront of developments in the industry. The
company founded the Association of German
Chocolate Makers in 1877. This Association had
three main goals. First, it lobbied for lower
import tariffs on cocoa to keep cocoa prices low.
Second, it insisted on implementing strict quality
standards. The company was concerned that
several chocolate manufacturers mixed their
chocolate with cheap ingredients such as potato
starch, animal fats and olive oils, or even with
cocoa bean shells, sand, chalk or ground brick.
Stollwerck believed that it would be in the
interests of all chocolate manufacturers to
enforce high standards. Third, the Association
argued for mandatory quality controls. As
analytical chemistry was only in its infancy at the
time, these quality controls were difficult to
carry out and were not fully implemented until
the 1930s. Nevertheless, the Association laid
the groundwork for the emphasis on quality in
the Western European chocolate industry
(Schokoladenmuseum, 2005).

Chocolate quality

222

The quality of a food product can be determined

at various stages in the commodity chain.
Unlike many less highly processed foods, the
quality of chocolate is primarily determined in the
later stages of the commodity chain, i.e. the
manufacturing process, rather than by the main
raw material, i.e. cocoa (Cidell and Alberts, 2006).
Some Western European companies prefer the
better criollo bean from Central America over the
cheaper forastero bean grown in Africa or Asia, or
mix different beans to achieve a certain taste
(Fold, 2001; Ritter Sport, 2005). Only some
companies, however, get their cocoa beans from
specific producers, even though this preference
probably reflects traditions developed under
colonialism rather than quality concerns. For
example, British companies have traditionally

favoured cocoa beans from Ghana, while French

manufacturers tend to prefer beans from the Ivory
Coast (Richardson, 2003). Historically, some
European companies had direct connections to
certain growers to ensure that the cocoa beans are
harvested at the ideal stage of ripeness, fermented
for the right length of time and stored under ideal
conditions, since all these factors improve the
taste (Telly, 1997). However, this practice is
increasingly being eroded. Due to the increasing
liberalisation of markets trading in raw materials
such as cocoa and the fact that the initial
processing of the cocoa beans is now carried out
by just a few companies, the quality of cocoa beans
can no longer be monitored to the same degree as
before (Fold, 2000; Tiffen, 2002).
Since the origin of the cocoa bean can no
longer be used as a determinant of quality, the
manufacturing process itself has become more
significant in defining quality chocolate. However,
even at that stage in the commodity chain,
regulators, manufacturers and consumers use
different criteria to assess quality (Ibery and
Kneafsey, 2000). Regulators, whether from
within the industry, as in the case of the
Association of German Chocolate Makers, or
from outside, as in the case of government
supervisors, are concerned about the chemical
purity of the product as well as hygienic
production conditions. Both US and Western
European companies insist that their production
facilities meet the highest standards in terms of
state-of-the-art machinery (Figure 5), hygienic
standards and qualified employees (Pottker, 1995;
Lindt and Sprngli, 2005), so differences among
countries are negligible.
Many manufacturers and some regulators
see quality as being determined by the care taken
during the manufacturing process. It is here that
differences between European and US chocolate
companies emerge. For example, most American
chocolate manufacturers knead or conch their
chocolate for 18-20 hours, while most Western
European chocolatiers conch for 72 hours. This
difference can be seen in the smoothness of the
chocolate, with US chocolate tending to be grittier
(Rinzler, 1977; Telly, 1997). Differences also exist
in the mixture of ingredients. In most continental
European countries, legislation specifies that milk
chocolate must contain at least 30% cocoa solids,
while in the US a product with as little as 10%
cocoa solids is considered chocolate. For dark
chocolate, the threshold is 43% cocoa solids for
European chocolate and 35% for US chocolate
(Khodorowsky and Robert, 2001). Since US mass-

Figure 5: Modern chocolate

production. Photo:
www.infozentrum-schoko.de

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market manufacturers prioritise cost over quality

(Coe and Coe, 1996), their chocolate contains a
higher percentage of sugar, as sugar is cheaper
than cocoa. For example, during a chance
encounter with an employee of Hershey, who did
not want to be named for fear of reprisals from his
company, he told us: Money is the only thing that
counts. Its not that we dont know how to make
better chocolate, we are just not willing to spend
the money on doing it.
While the quality differences as defined by
the mixture of ingredients are most striking
between the United States and European
countries, there are also significant quality
differences among Western European manufacturers. The different attitudes towards quality
led to what became known as the European
Chocolate Wars. The Chocolate Wars are intertwined with the development of the European
Union (EU), which has now taken on the role of
regulator for many food items that were
previously covered by national legislation. When
the UK joined the EU in 1973, it asked that
the strict regulations concerning chocolate
ingredients, as implemented by the original six
member states, be relaxed. The traditional
chocolate-manufacturing countries of Belgium,
The Netherlands and Germany, as well as non-EU
member Switzerland, vehemently opposed any
changes in the standards. After long debates, the
EU exempted the UK from the legislation and
allowed British manufacturers to use a higher

percentage of sugar and milk in their chocolate, as

well as selected vegetable fats instead of pure
cocoa butter (Morrison, 2000; Andrews, 1997).
The EU standards came under attack again when
Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the EU in 1994
and following the example of the UK asked to
be exempted. Yielding to the increasing pressure,
the EU passed a new chocolate law in 2000 that
allows the use of fats other than the expensive
cocoa butter in chocolate (for a more detailed
discussion of the Chocolate Wars see Cidell and
Alberts, 2006). Now chocolate manufacturers in all
EU countries can replace up to 5% of cocoa butter
with vegetable fats from an approved list of six
substances, but have to include these prominently
on the food label. While the use of these other
fats increases the shelf life of chocolate and
reduces the cost, many continental European
manufacturers insist that quality chocolate can
contain only cocoa butter (Fold, 2000; Terrio,
2000; Schokoladenmuseum, 2005). The countries
with the strictest quality standards Switzerland,
Germany and Belgium are also those where the
most chocolate is consumed (Figure 1).
The final determinant of quality is consumer
opinion. Consumer taste is highly subjective. For
example, many people prefer milk chocolate over
dark chocolate, even though chocolate with a
higher percentage of cocoa solids is supposedly
of higher quality (Terrio, 2000; Fabricant, 1998). In
part, these taste preferences are the result of
traditions. For example, the Spanish continue

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to prefer strong and bitter chocolate with a

minimum of fat and sugar, similar to the original
chocolate brought over from the Americas. The
Germans and Swiss, by contrast, like their
chocolate rich in flavour, milky and smooth
(Rinzler, 1977; Richardson, 2003). These preferences reflect other country-specific factors
relating to manufacture; for example, whether or
not that country invented part of the manufacturing process and what raw materials are
readily available there (Fold, 2000; Richardson,
2003; Cidell and Alberts, 2006). For example, the
Swiss have a large dairy industry and invented the
processes that led to the production of milk
chocolate, which helps to explain why they prefer
milk chocolate. The Swiss also invented conching,
the process that improves the smoothness of
the chocolate, another characteristic of Swiss
chocolate. While differences are largest among
different manufacturers, companies that market
their chocolates on both sides of the Atlantic, like
Lindt and Nestl, adjust their recipes slightly in
order to cater to different taste preferences. For
example, they use a higher sugar content in the
United States and the UK than in continental
Europe (Rinzler, 1977; Lindt and Sprngli, 2005).

Marketing and
consumption

224

Traditions and cultural attitudes are not only

important in understandings of quality, but also
influence chocolate consumption patterns and
how manufacturers cater to the tastes of their
customers. Most Americans see chocolate as an
indulgence, while many Europeans consider it a
serious food (Pottker, 1995) and are more likely
to defend it as something that is healthy when
eaten in moderation. The following, even though
a joke, is an indication of how many Europeans
view chocolate: Chocolate is a vegetable. How,
you ask? Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans.
Beans are vegetables. Sugar is derived from either
sugar cane or sugar beets. Both are plants, which
places them in the vegetable category. Therefore
chocolate is a vegetable (author unknown). This
attitude towards chocolate is reflected in the
marketing strategies of chocolate companies.
For example, commercials of the German Ritter
Sport Company frequently show people eating
chocolate on camping tours and when taking part
in sports. Similarly, Joghurette (a Ferrero product)

is marketed as fitting the lifestyle of active people.

Interpreting chocolate as a food rather than as a
treat partly explains why Europeans on average
eat so much more of it than Americans do.
However, not only do they eat more, they also
prefer it in different forms. Most Americans eat a
large share of their chocolate in the form of candy
bars or in cakes, cookies or ice cream (Rees, 1997;
Khodorowsky and Robert, 2001). In Europe, by
contrast, most chocolate is eaten in the form of
pure chocolate bars.
US chocolate manufacturers not only
produce different chocolate products but also
employ different innovation strategies. The US
chocolate industry is dominated by two giants
Hershey and M&M/Mars. Hershey started
producing milk chocolate bars en masse in 1893
with German machinery purchased at the Worlds
Columbian Exhibition in Chicago. The Mars
Company was established in the early 1920s and
mostly made candy bars such as Milky Way, Mars,
Snickers and Three Musketeers. By the 1980s,
both companies were in intense competition with
one another. In order to gain a competitive edge,
Hershey introduced a range of new products
(such as Hersheys Hugs and Symphony), while
Mars limited itself to modifying existing brands
(usually through the addition of peanuts or
peanut butter) and transforming some of its
candy bars into ice cream bars (Pottker, 1995;
Albright, 1997). Compared with Western European manufacturers, though, even Hersheys
more innovative approach looks timid. Innovations in the US chocolate industry have largely
been limited to changes in size (giant bars, bitesized), more healthy varieties (diet chocolates), or
new packaging, rather than the creation of new
products (Rees, 1997). Overall, there is relatively
little innovation in the US chocolate industry.
Pottker (1995), for example, points out that more
than half of the candy bars sold in the US were
invented over 50 years ago. Mass-market
chocolate bars exist in only a few varieties (milk
and dark) and with only a few different fillings
(caramel and almonds). This lack of innovation
may partly be due to the general decrease in
chocolate consumption in the United States. In
the 1980s, cocoa prices increased at a time when
health concerns over food became widespread,
discouraging people from eating chocolate
products. Furthermore, Americans developed a
taste for other snack items such as nuts and potato
chips, which did not catch on in Europe to the
same degree (Rees, 1997).

Western Europe has not seen a

corresponding decrease in chocolate consumption. One reason is certainly the widespread
opinion of Europeans that chocolate is a food, not
an indulgence. Another factor is that European
chocolate manufacturers market their products
through a mixture of emphasising tradition as well
as innovation in order to attract their customers,
as evidenced by the following examples from
Germany. The Ritter family started producing
chocolate bars in Germany in 1912. Twenty years
later Ritter came up with the idea of creating
a square 100g chocolate bar that would fit into
a mans shirt pocket. In the 1970s, the company
decided to limit their production to just these
chocolate squares (called Ritter Sport), and
invented their marketing slogan that is used to
this day: Quadratisch. Praktisch. Gut. (Square.
Handy. Good.). While the company limited
production to these squares rather than
branching out into different chocolate products,
its innovation strategy has been to offer many
different flavours. Beyond manufacturing four
main types of chocolate white, milk, alpine-milk
and dark this meant creating different fillings
(Figure 6). Since the 1970s, the company has used
a different colour of wrapping for each of their
chocolate flavours, making the chocolate highly
distinctive on supermarket shelves. Today, the
company offers more than a dozen different
chocolate flavours year-round (e.g. nougat,
marzipan, crisp and nut) as well as a range of
seasonal products (fruit-and-yoghurt chocolates
in summer and chocolate with spices in winter).
Thus, the Ritter Sport Company, which has a
market share of 25% in Germany (Ritter Sport,
2005), continues to attract customers through a
mixture of tradition (the same shape and
wrapping of the bars for decades) and innovation
(new flavours almost every year).
Ferrero, a major chocolate manufacturer
based in Italy but with a large market share in
Germany, follows a similar strategy. Besides
producing a wide range of confectionary
products, such as Ferrero Rocher or Raffaello,
Ferrero is most known for its Kinder line of
products. These products, milk chocolate with a
milk cream filling, are targeted at children
(Kinder means children in German). For
decades, the marketing slogans have been
More milk, less cocoa and the extra serving of
milk to emphasise that the products are a good
contribution to childrens nutrition. This strategy,
too, represents a dual focus on tradition and
innovation. For decades, the colour scheme of

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Geography 2006

Figure 6: Chocolate varieties. Photo: www.infozentrumschoko.de

Ferrero Kinder products has been white and

orange, and the same boy is pictured on todays
chocolate bars as in the 1970s. Innovation, in the
case of Ferrero, is to introduce variations of the
milk filling (with crispy rice or small pieces of
almonds) and to create products in different
shapes and sizes.

Conclusion
In summary, when it comes to chocolate, the
United States and continental Europe are two
different worlds. The UK takes an intermediate
position, with understandings of quality more
closely mirroring those in the US, but
consumption patterns being decidedly Western
European. Even though chocolate is seen as an
indulgence in North America, mass-market
chocolate manufacturers are not as concerned
with quality and taste as are their European
counterparts. This is evident in the less stringent
attitude towards quality ingredients, but also in
the smaller focus on manufacturing processes that
improve chocolate quality, such as conching.
Many continental European manufacturers, by
contrast, continue to hold on to the highest
quality standards, despite external pressures from

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other EU member countries. This strategy of

providing high-quality products and marketing
them through a mix of emphasising tradition as
well as innovation apparently pays off, as
chocolate consumption is highest in these
countries.
At this point it is important to emphasise
again that our analysis is limited to mass-market
chocolate producers. We believe that these
companies, who make up the lions share of the
entire chocolate market, are the most important
indicator of general trends in the chocolate
industry. However, a future project could examine
how small-scale chocolate manufacturers are
reshaping a small segment of the market.
European understandings of quality and
innovation are clearly reflected in the strategies of
these small manufacturers in the US market, and
mirror similar trends in the niche markets
emerging in other sections of the food industry.

Notes
1. The word for chocolate in Nahuatl, the language of the
Aztec, is believed to have been cacahuatl. When the
Spaniards brought chocolate to Europe, they were
understandably wary of calling a brown substance caca,
and therefore preferred to Hispanicise the term xocoatl
into chocolate (Coe and Coe, 1996).

References

226

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Chocolate. Food of the gods. Westport, CT: Greenwood
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Andrews, E. (1997) Great Chocolate War reveals dark side
of Europe, New York Times, October 24, A3.
Brenner, J. (2000) The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the
secret world of Hershey and Mars. New York, NY:
Broadway.
Burleigh, R. (2002) Chocolate. Riches from the rainforest.
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Coe, S. and Coe, M. (1996) The True History of Chocolate.
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Dr Heike C. Alberts is an Assistant Professor at the Department

of Geography and Urban Planning, University of WisconsinOshkosh, 800 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh, WI 54901
(tel: (920) 424 7109; email: alberts@uwosh.edu). Dr Julie L.
Cidell is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Geography
and Environmental Studies, California State University, 5500
University Parkway, SB 327, San Bernardino, CA 92407
(tel: +1 909 538 3777; email: jcidell@csusb.edu).