THE AVERAGE ENGLISHMAN...

'The average Englishman starts his day with a walk in the park, afterwards he saunters to some coffee or chocolate house frequented by the persons he would see, for it is a sort of rule with the English to go once a day at least to houses of this sort ...'

Lewes, Baron de Pollnitz, writing in 1745

THE BRITISH OBSESSION WITH CHOCOLATE...

According to the BBC for most of us, chocolate is a guilty pleasure, and the British are particularly fond of it.

Research shows that, on average, Britons enjoy about 11kg (24lb) of chocolate a year, making the UK one of the biggest consumers of chocolate in the world. Apparently only the Swiss and Germans eat more!!

However, it's not a modern craze, in fact, chocoholism may date back to the 18^th Century and beyond. Cacao beans, which are the basic component of chocolate, were roasted, ground and drunk with water by the Mayans from around 2,000 years ago.

The chocolate beverage was first recorded as being for sale in Oxford, England in 1660.

Sir Hans Sloane (1660-1753) who was the physician to Queen Anne of England, was reportedly the first person to mix chocolate successfully with milk. The drink was then used for restorative purposes.