Description:

From Bonner and Middleton’s Bristol Journal.

Advert for the sale of some of the cargo from a ship captured by a British vessel. The ship had tobacco, coffee and cocoa on board from the Americas.

Chocolate was first used as a drink, sweetened with sugar to mask the bitter flavour of the chocolate. Later it was used for making eating chocolate. At this period, most people drank beer, wine or spirits. Water was not safe to drink, tea coffee and chocolate were expensive. Quakers promoted drinking chocolate as an alternative to alcohol.

Date: Sept 22nd 1781

Copyright: Copyright BCC Library Service