This was an excellent book which I was unfortunately not able to borrow for long enough to do more than skim most of it. From history of both the various conditions under which the beans were traded and used as money, to grown under shade and very sparsely before the Sanish conquest to the mass production and exploitation of both the beans and the finished product in various ways, Lopez details much about the production and consumption of chocolate that highlights the beauty and the beast in this now world-wide luxury food. ( )

This was an excellent book which I was unfortunately not able to borrow for long enough to do more than skim most of it. From history of both the various conditions under which the beans were traded and used as money, to grown under shade and very sparsely before the Sanish conquest to the mass production and exploitation of both the beans and the finished product in various ways, Lopez details much about the production and consumption of chocolate that highlights the beauty and the beast in this now world-wide luxury food. ( )