iChocolate.co.uk
Here at iChocolate.co.uk we have gathered the best offerings from chocolatiers and sweets manufactures from all over the world to offer the cream of Swiss, Belgium and other luxury chocolates. These quality chocolates make great gifts. Not just for valentines or Easter, our selection of fine chocolates can add a gourmet treat for any occasion. You can buy handmade chocolates in combinations of dark, milk and white in bars, coins and molded fancies. Shop for luxury truffles and organic products containing only the highest quality cocoa / cacao. Our merchants can deliver to your door top quality chocolate eggs, coins, hearts, bars and baskets. Supplement your normal thorntons and cadbury offerings and this time treat that special someone or yourself to a gourmet chocolate.
History of Chocolate
Chocolate is made from the seeds of the tree Theobroma cacao. The ancient Aztecs harvested the cacao tree seeds and used the sun dried beans as currency. The trees to them were a a source of strength and wealth due the the natural high obtained by eating it. The Aztecs crushed parts of the seeds to create a refreshing and nourishing drink an early version of drinking chocolate which because of the effects was held in high regard and created a strong demand. Unlike its modern equivalent it would have been very bitter. 16th century European explorers brought the drink back from their travels, and created a similar demand in the gentry of the time for this drink.
In the 1800s the thick paste like drink created for the european market was dried in molds to create the first chocolate bars. In this solid form chocolate made an ideal energy source for explorers and the armies of the day who benefited on its effects in the same way as the early Aztecs before them. The refinement of the this process led to the modern chocolate bar we know today. The Swiss perfected the process further and were the pioneers of the milk chocolate flavour which is the worlds most popular.
Feel Good Food
Chocolate contains a natural 'love drug'. Tryptophan is a chemical that the brain uses to make a neurotransmitter called serotonin. High levels of serotonin can produce feelings of elation, even ecstasy - hence the name of the designer drug that also works by increasing serotonin levels. While tryptophan could be considered 'chocolate's ecstasy', another chemical called phenylethylamine has earned the nickname 'chocolate amphetamine.' High levels of this neurotransmitter help promote feelings of attraction, excitement, giddiness and apprehension. Phenylethylamine works by stimulating the brain's pleasure centres and reaches peak levels during orgasm. But many scientists are sceptical that chocolate could produce mood-altering effects in this way. Chemicals like tryptophan and phenylethylamine, which are also found in many other foodstuffs, are present in chocolate only in very small quantities. The same is true of anandamide, the current favourite candidate for a psychoactive chocolate ingredient. Anandamide is a neurotransmitter that targets the same brain structures as THC, the active ingredient in cannabis. But to make a substantial impact on the brain's own natural anandamide levels, experts estimate you would need to eat several kilos of chocolate!