Oh, Chocolate, my Chocolate...

Nearly 10 o’clock in the morning and I can feel it coming: the chocolate urge; the need for chocolate. Just two squares of Aldi store-bought Choceur dark Chocolate.
 Every day at 10 AM.
 Am I an addict?   I think I might be. I can tell the time in the morning without checking a clock or watch. I know when chocolate time is near and I am aware if chocolate time
has passed and I haven’t indulged. 
But, can you call 2 squares of chocolate an indulgence? 
Funnily enough, my chocolate craving is satisfied with just the 2 squares. I rarely, if ever, wish to supplement it with more, once I have eaten the 2 squares. 
Occasionally (only occasionally), but especially if I have been writing something that has tired (and tried) my brain in the afternoon, I will eat another 2 squares of chocolate.
 The chocolate eating is always accompanied by a mug of Earl Grey tea.
 Perhaps it is the tea to which I am addicted? I don’t think so.
 Anyway, having this persistent chocolate urge (not addiction) set me off on a search for facts
about chocolate and, guess what? I discovered that chocolate IS good for us.

 Read this (from the Victorian Better Health Channel):
 
‘Chocolate is made from cocoa beans. Components in cocoa beans such as antioxidants may
help protect against degenerative illnesses like heart disease and cancer. Chocolate also contains protein, fat, iron, caffeine and other substances. There is no evidence that chocolate causes acne.’
  
And another couple of delightful pieces on information I found:
 ‘Apparently chocolate melting in one’s mouth can cause a more intense and longer-lasting pleasure than kissing’.  

Oh, really?
And……….
 
‘A single chocolate chip can give you enough energy to walk 150 feet’.
 
Then there’s The History of Chocolate
 
(All this info was on the‘net – on various sites)

 "Hot Chocolate: the Blood of the Gods?"

 It is widely believed that chocolate was consumed as a drink as much as 2600 years
ago. The origin of the cacao (pron. Ca-cow) tree (from which cocoa comes) is in dispute 
  
A theory or two: 
  
Some say it originated in the Amazon basin of Brazil; others say it is native to Central
America. Possibly – and here’s one theory: during his conquest of Mexico, Hernando Cortez, the great Spanish explorer, came upon the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans to prepare their royal drink which they called “chocolatl” (meaning warm liquid). Excited about this new product, Cortez took some beans back with him to Spain. With some added cane sugar, the chocolate drink became very popular, especially among the Spanish aristocracy. Spain wisely started to plant cacao trees themselves which developed into a very profitable business. Remarkably, the Spaniards succeeded in keeping the art of the cocoa industry a secret from the rest of Europe for nearly a hundred years.
 
Well, whoever discovered it, whoever invented it, whoever created the chocolate we now know and love – Thank you so much.
 10 AM is often my favourite time of day.

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