Legend says cacao was the gift of the gods - the substance from which the Maya believed the first true human beings were made. Today it sits in a foil-wrapped square on the bedside table of every budget hotel in the world. This is the story of how it got there.

The Origins and Development of Cocoa follows Theobroma cacao - the "food of the gods" - from the upper Amazon and the Olmec lowlands of Mexico, through the sacred drink of the Maya and the cacao-bean currency of the Aztecs, to the Spanish court, the chocolate houses of Europe, and the factories of Fry, Cadbury, Lindt and Hershey. It is a story of ritual and luxury, but also of slavery, colonial plantations and the hard economics behind every chocolate bar.

Inside you'll discover:

• The legends, biology and archaeology behind the world's favourite flavour
• How the Maya and Aztecs turned cacao into a sacred drink and a currency
• The Spanish encounter, the spread to Europe and the rise of the chocolate house
• Sugar, slavery and the plantation economies of the Caribbean and West Africa
• The industrial revolution in chocolate - Van Houten, conching and milk chocolate
• How cocoa is shipped, graded, contracted, priced and traded today
• The legal, regulatory, compliance and sustainability framework, including child labour and deforestation rules
• The customs and cocoa cultures of the major producing and consuming nations

Written for general readers, students and trade professionals alike, this book is Volume 2 in The Origins of Trade series - A Journey Round the World - by John W Gates.