Chocolate really does grow on trees although not as little chocolates. Chocolate comes from the seeds of the tree Theobroma cacao (T. cacao), a tropical rainforest tree.
The name for chocolate most likely comes from the Nahuatl language, indigenous to central Mexico, although it may have been influenced by the Mayan languages. It was discovered about 2000 years ago in the tropical rainforest in America
Chocolate residue found in several jars from the site of Puerto Escondido in Honduras, from around 1100 B.C., is the earliest evidence to date of the use of cacao. The evidence found indicates that the earliest use of cacao seems to have been as an alcoholic beverage. Chocolate was also an important luxury good throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and cacao beans were often used as currency, Christopher Columbus brought some cocoa beans to show Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, but it was Spanish friars who introduced it to Europe more broadly.
At the end of the 18th century, the first form of solid chocolate was invented in Turin by Doret. This chocolate was sold in large quantities from 1826 by Pierre Paul Caffarel. In 1819, F. L. Cailler opened the first Swiss chocolate factory. In 1828, Dutchman Coenraad Johannes van Houten patented a method for extracting the fat from cocoa beans and making powdered cocoa and cocoa butter. Van Houten also developed the so-called Dutch process of treating chocolate with alkali to remove the bitter taste. This made it possible to form the modern chocolate bar. It is believed that the Englishman Joseph Fry made the first chocolate for eating in 1847, followed in 1849 by the Cadbury brothers.
Roughly two-thirds of the world's cocoa is produced in Western Africa, with close to half of the total sourced from Côte d'Ivoire.During late 19th and early 20th century Spain , who had been considered the number one chocolate country falls far behind. Switzerland becomes the leading manufacturer of chocolate products and is widely renowned for its outstanding quality and innovative methods.
There are many different types of Chocolate. Here are a few examples.

Baking Chocolate: These chocolate are usually found in the supermarket and it comes in either semisweet or unsweetened variety.

Cocoa Powder: Powered cocoa is usually used in making candies and baking and also consumed as a beverage, such as a hot chocolate drink.

Eating Chocolate: Plain bars of chocolate are you usually found in supermarkets in mostly sweet or semisweet.

Couverture Chocolate: This type of chocolate is high in cocoa butter content which is primarily used in melting the chocolate into molds for dipping.

From being shunned as unhealthy and fattening snack, chocolate has today reclaimed is true status as a revitalizing medicine for the body as well as for the mind .Today, chocolate can be found almost everywhere you look. From elaborate chocolate sculptures to bite sized treats, chocolate is now available for everyone to enjoy.