In Chocolate Islands: Cocoa, Slavery, and Colonial Africa, Catherine Higgs traces the early-twentieth-century journey of the Englishman Joseph Burtt to the Portuguese colony of São Tomé and Príncipe—the chocolate islands—through Angola and Mozambique, and finally to British Southern Africa. Burtt had been hired by the chocolate firm Cadbury Brothers Limited to determine if the cocoa it was buying from the islands had been harvested by slave laborers forcibly recruited from Angola, an allegation that became one of the grand scandals of the early colonial era. Burtt spent six months on São Tomé and Príncipe and a year in Angola. His five-month march across Angola in 1906 took him from innocence and credulity to outrage and activism and ultimately helped change labor recruiting practices in colonial Africa. This beautifully written and engaging travel narrative draws on collections in Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Africa to explore British and Portuguese attitudes toward work, slavery, race, and imperialism. In a story still familiar a century after Burtt’s sojourn, Chocolate Islands reveals the idealism, naivety, and racism that shaped attitudes toward Africa, even among those who sought to improve the conditions of its workers.

Chocolate is nearly always with us—when celebrating or mourning, in love or alone, healthy or sick, happy or sad. This book offers a comprehensive look at how an exotic food grew to play such a central role in our lives. No food in the world can offer as storied a history as chocolate. Chocolate: A Cultural Encyclopedia focuses on cocoa's history from ancient Mesoamerican beginnings as a symbol of ritual, life, and death, to its omnipresence in Europe, North America, and the rest of the world. In 10 thematic chapters covering chocolate in society and culture, 80 shorter entries, recipes, and a comprehensive timeline, this new book takes a closer look at how chocolate has served as a medicine, an indulgence, a symbol of decadence, a door to romance, a tempting taboo, a means of survival, and a snack for children and adults alike. Why did popes and kings so fear their chocolate? Who invented milk chocolate, and why was its formula kept secret? Why did soldiers in World War II despise their chocolate rations? Who makes the most chocolate today? Find out the answers to these questions and more as this book tells you everything you wanted to know—and a lot you didn't even know existed—about the seed from the world’s favorite fruit tree.

Inside this delicious guide to chocolate tasting across six continents, you'll discover everything from where to get Germany's best black forest cake to unmissable hot chocolate hotspots, revealing where to go and what to try, as well as finding out about the history, production and science of chocolate making. Packed with 150 of the world's best chocolate experiences across six continents, this globetrotting guide features master chocolatiers, artisan producers, exotic cocoa plantations, must-visit shops and lots more, as well as photos from all around the globe. The mouthwatering places in Lonely Planet's Global Chocolate Tour are bound to inspire tasty trips to these chocolate meccas, while giving you insights into the culture, history, people and passion behind each chocolatey creation. Throughout the book you'll: Find the world's finest bean-to-bar chocolate Visit cacao farms and learn how chocolate is made Find coffee classes and learn about roasting and brewing Explore each area with our itinerary of local things to do About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, on mobile, video and in 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, eBooks, and more. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

This book draws out a number of unexpected connections between chocolate and blackness as both idea and reality. Silke Hackenesch builds her argument around four main focal points. First is the modes of production of chocolate--the economic realities of the business and the material connection between blackness and chocolate. Second is the semantics of chocolate, while its iconography is analyzed third. Finally, she addresses the use of chocolate as a racial signifier, showing that it is deployed differently by African Americans and Afro-Germans, for example.

Chocolate is a decadent visual exploration of the world's favorite indulgence, from its origins to tasting, techniques, and recipes, so every chocoholic can really appreciate every mouthful. Find out how to identify quality when buying, taste like a pro, or make your own chocolate at home and experiment with different flavor combinations. Take the leap from chocoholic to chocolatier with the help of 15 step-by-step recipes for truffles, fondant, cake, and more. Eight step-by-step techniques provide mini master classes for tempering, flavoring, and even making your own bean-to-bar chocolate. Chocolate also traces the transformation from cocoa bean to bar, highlights the chocolate-producing countries throughout the world, and explains why chocolate is so addictive. With more than 300 photographs, this book is a visual indulgence that is sure to lead to a palatable one. Give in to your inner chocoholic and become an expert on the world's most delectable treat with DK's Chocolate.

“A deliciously informative, engaging and sweeping chronicle of one of the most popular treats in the world” (Kirkus Reviews). Chocolate explores many aspects of the much-loved cacao bean: cutting-edge genetic science; social and environmental considerations; history; and culture—providing a thought-provoking look into one of the world’s most popular foods through the centuries. It relates fun facts as well—like the story of the children who went on strike to protest a price hike on candy bars after World War II (and were accused of being Communist agents). As a bonus, it also includes photos—and some sweet recipes. “Fascinating . . . Excellent and highly original.” —School Library Journal (starred review)