While 75% of chocolate purchases are made by women all year long, during the days and minutes before Valentine's Day, 75% of the chocolate purchases are made by men.
Over $1billion of chocolate is purchased for Valentine's Day.
Our love of chocolate first began 2,000 years ago when it was discovered in Latin America. The Maya and Aztec elites infused cocoa beans with water to form frothy chocolate drinks for special occasions and as sacrifices to the gods. The rest of Aztec society used cocoa beans as money and were unable to afford to drink it.
Montezuma believed that chocolate was an aphrodisiac and routinely drank it before entering his harem. As it turns out, he was ahead of his time. Modern scientists have linked the chemical phenylethylamine in chocolate to feelings of excitement, attraction and even pleasure.
Christopher Columbus noticed how the Aztecs used cocoa and immediately took the luxury product back to Spain. Eventually Chocolate was the rage throughout Europe. At one point in time, chocolate was believed to be so potent that nuns were forbidden from eating it and French doctors used it to treat “broken hearts.”
Credit goes to: http://live.gourmet.com/2011/02/the-history-of-valentines-day-chocolate/
