Chocolate and Aromatherapy Article at Chocolate Aromatherapy by Sharon Falsetto

Indulge in pure delight...

"strength is the capacity to break a chocolate into four pieces with your bare hands
- and then just eat one of the pieces."
Judith Viorst

by Sharon Falsetto

Although loved by the majority of the female population, what does chocolate have to do with aromatherapy? True aromatherapy that is. After all, we've all seen the 'aromatic' chocolate body lotions and candles with synthetic fragrances which are really more of a gimmick, and a sexual 'aid' in some cases, than about the true healing power of aromatherapy. However, chocolate, to use the term broadly, does have a place in aromatherapy if you consider the facts carefully...

The Source of Chocolate

Have you actually considered where chocolate comes from? I know its difficult to think past that all intoxicating, melt-in-your-mouth, 'I simply have to have some chocolate now' feeling and 'it's just sitting there on the store shelf enticing me to buy it' (we all have those days!) but how does it get there? What is it made from?

The ancient Maya believed that money really did grow on trees; that is cacao trees. The cacao tree takes its name from the Mayan word kakaw and it is native to South and Central America ; it is from the kernel of the seeds of the cacao that theobroma oil (theobroma cacao), better known as cocoa butter, is chemically extracted.

There are a few steps involved in the processing of the cacao seeds including fermenting, washing and drying the seeds before hulling, roasting and hot expressing the oil from the roasted seeds. The end result is something we are all familiar with – cocoa and cocoa butter.

The Maya people traded the prized cacao bean, throughout their empire, using it as a form of currency. They were the first to produce hot chocolate which was used in many events of their lives from births to marriages to death. The Aztec people of central Mexico also paid much tribute to cacao but were not as successful in growing it in their slightly cooler and less humid climate.

Cacao was first cultivated to make cocoa butter in 1695 by the Europeans, when the Spanish were 'discovering' the Americas and exported it back to Europe. It was an Englishman by the name of Joseph Fry who, in 1847, invented the first form of solid chocolate as we know it today.

Uses of Chocolate in Aromatherapy

In cooking, the main use of cocoa beans is for chocolate. Traditional plant use of the 'oil' included use in the treatment of wrinkles, particularly on the face and neck. The Europeans used it combined with other ingredients to treat diarrhoea, lung congestion, infectious intestinal disease and bronchitis. Cosmetically, the 'oil' is used in lipsticks, soaps, massage creams and nail whiteners. Therapeutically, the 'oil' is used as a massage lubricant and in ointments, particularly as a carrier for essential oils.

Benefits of Chocolate Aromatherapy

Chocolate is said to produce the same europhic feelings as those experienced during sex (sex or chocolate....hmm...) so chocolate combined with aromatherapy is the ultimate indulgence! Using true cocoa butter, with the added ingredients of essential oils, there are true aromatic and therapeutic benefits from this form of aromatherapy. Cocoa butter is also good for the skin; used correctly and with true aromatherapy ingredients, 'chocolate' really is beneficial in aromatherapy!

Visit our Chocolate Aromatherapy Shoppe for a true aromatic chocolate experience!

References:

Price, Len 1999 Carrier Oils for Aromatherapy and Massage Riverhead, Stratford-upon-Avon, England

'A Gift from the Gods Chocolate' AR Williams in National Geographic Collectors Edition

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