The Anti Ageing Cure!

In 17th Century London it was believed that chocolate could reverse the ageing process!

In the 17th century, the craze for chocolate reached epic levels as it started to become the must have accessory for the middle and aspiring classes. As a symbol of wealth and worldliness, it was fast becoming a must have commodity.

In 1657 various newspapers were reporting that the public could sample, buy or learn how to make an ‘excellent West India drink’ called chocolate from a Frenchman, who was said to be the first man to sell it in England. History suggests that people would flock to his chocolate house which was tucked away in Queen’s Head Alley in Bishopsgate Street London just to get a taste of what they saw as an exotic drink.

Within the next decade, a slew of pamphlets appeared proclaiming the miraculous, medicinal qualities of chocolate and not only was it ramping up as a fashion accessory it was also said to boost fertility, cure consumption, alleviate indigestion and reverse ageing. In one of the advertisements of the time, it was said that a mere lick would ‘make old women look young and fresh! However, for other’s it really did have healing qualities and Samuel Pepys swore by chocolate as the perfect cure for a hangover. He suggested that it was thanks to its healing qualities that his ‘sad head’ and ‘imbecilic stomach’ were relieved the day after Charles II’s bacchanalian coronation.