Three Fun Facts About Chocolate

It’s Chocolate Week in the UK, a time to celebrate the delicious, mouth-watering treat enjoyed by millions of people around the world. Chocolate comes in many forms (bars, sweets, powder, and liquid), but just because something is loved internationally doesn’t mean that everything is known about it. With that in mind, here are three fun facts about chocolate which you might not know. We hope you learn something new.

Chocolate was used as Money

In ancient Mayan times, in central America, cacao beans were used as currency and were more valuable than gold dust. Does that mean you could plant as many cacao trees as you wanted and become a millionaire? Well, no, the government restricted how many cacao trees you could plant and grow.

Three Fun Facts About Chocolate 1
Mayan Chocolate

White Chocolate isn’t really chocolate

If you love white chocolate, rather than dark or milk chocolate, that’s great, but did you know that it’s not actually chocolate? White chocolate doesn’t contain any cacao solids or liquids. It’s made of cocoa butter, vanilla, and sugar. Which means it’s something else completely.

Chocolate is good for your teeth

Chocolate has an antibacterial effect on the mouth, and eating cocoa has been shown to prevent tooth decay. This doesn’t mean you should throw away your toothpaste, but it’s good to know that chocolate, in and of itself, is not bad for your teeth. Far from it, chocolate is great for you chompers.

There are a lot of myths and misinformation about chocolate to be found out there. Now you know some facts to bust those myths. This week, enjoy a bar of whatever flavour chocolate you love (or a mug of hot chocolate), sit back in your favourite chair and enjoy chocolate week. Tell everyone you know these three fun facts about chocolate. I’m sure they’ll be happy to know.

Vocabulary Activity

Match the bold words in the article to the definitions below.

  1. (v.) keep (something) from happening
  2. (v./n.) rot, decompose, become worse
  3. (n.) fine, dry powder
  4. (adj.) extremely old, from a very long time ago
  5. (n.) a system of money in use in a particular country
  6. (adj./n.) not a liquid or gas
  7. (v. informal) break, split, or burst
  8. (n. informal) teeth
  9. (adj.) smelling or looking delicious; attractive, appetising 
  10. (idiom) by itself, not considering any other factors
  1. Prevent
  2. Decay
  3. Dust
  4. Ancient
  5. Currency
  6. Solid
  7. Bust
  8. Chompers
  9. Mouth-watering
  10. In and of itself

This is Ingla School of English‘s weekly blog, intended as reading practise for our students in Turnpike Lane, in London, and around the globe. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and take a look at the rest of our writing, much of which has activities for teachers to use in the classroom.

Ingla School of English

We are a welcoming school in north London, convenient to the areas of Haringey, Alexandra Palace, Wood Green and Turnpike Lane. We provide quality English language and exam preparation courses both at the school in London and online.

Ingla School of English is the trading name of English & Skills Training London Ltd

Registered Office: 1 Wellington Terrace | Turnpike Lane | N8 0PX | London | Company Number: 7343266

Accreditations

We are accredited by the British Council, and a recognised centre for TRINITY Exams Preparation. We are also a member of English UK, and certified as a business that is ‘Good to Go’ according to the government and public health standards of Visit England.

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