Brief History of Chocolate and Chocolate Machines

The tale of chocolate begins with the discovery of America in 1492. The Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella got its first look at the principal ingredient of chocolate when Columbus returned in triumph from America. Among the treasures he returned with were a few dark brown beans that looked like almonds. However, they were in fact cocoa beans, the source of all chocolate.

Chocolate Comes To America

In the USA, chocolate was produced at an exceedingly faster rate than the rest of the world could contend with. And so, the first chocolate factory was erected in 1765, in New England before the revolutionary war of 1770. and since that eventful day, chocolate has gained great importance in the lives of many of the world's inhabitants.

Growing the Cocoa Bean

Cocoa beans are the product of the cacao tree. At its maturity, the cultivated tree measures from 15 to 25 feet tall, though the tree in its wild state may reach 60 feet or more.

What Happens after Picking

Ripe pods are collected from the tree and transported to theedge of the field for pod breaking. A single pod may yield anywhere from 20 to 50 cream-colored beans. Dried beans from an average pod weigh less than two ounces, and approximately 400 beans are required to make one pound of chocolate. The cocoa beans from the pods are put into boxes or thrown on heaps and covered. Around the beans is a layer of pulp that starts to heat up and ferment. Fermentation lasts from three to nine days and serves to remove the raw bitter taste of cocoa and to develop precursors and components that are characteristic of chocolate flavor. (Fermenting is a "yeasting" process where sugars contained in the beans are converted to acid; primarily lactic acid and acetic acid).

From the Bean to Chocolate

To make an individual-size chocolate bar takes from two to four days or more. The first step is cleaning. This is done by passing the cocoa beans through a cleaning machine that removes dried cacao pulp, pieces of pod and other extraneous material that had not been removed earlier. The beans are then roasted and depending upon bean variety and the desired results, the roasting lasts from 30 minutes to two hours. As the beans turn over and over, their moisture content drops, their color changes to a rich brown, and the characteristic aroma of chocolate becomes evident.

After Roasting to Eating Chocolate

After roasting, the beans are quickly cooled and their thin shells, made brittle by roasting, are removed. Chocolate is made down the track by adding cocoa butter. This holds true of all eating chocolate, whether it is dark, bittersweet, or milk chocolate. Besides enhancing the flavor, the added cocoa butter serves to make the chocolate more fluid.

The Stash

Cadbury chocolate bars are at a premium in the chocolate machine, sponsored by the aforementioned company. The variety available includes;
- Boost
- Picnic
- Crunchie
- Curly Wurly
- Fruit and Nut
- Chocolate
- Time Out
- Twirl

Be sure to aim for the denser chocolate with greater size to maximise any chocolate bar haul. The trusty bars we recommend are Cadbury crunchie and Cadbury Picnic.

The Manouvres


The Claw

The simple manouvre that is the hallmark of any chocolate machine expedition. Simply involves moving the claw, via the control sick, over a fertile nest of chocolate bars and then releasing its potential by pressing the button atop to accelerate its descent towards the nest. The claw should then do the rest of the work and deliver a handsome bounty of chocolate to the drop zone.

"The Rappo Smash and Grab"

This technique was first developed and mastered by Tristan Rappo, a young aspiring medical student in the town of Dubbo NSW, on what will be remembered by many as a cold, miserable night where faith was returned to the people. That faith was the smash and grab. Unlike its namesake, this version of the smash and grab does not involve ramming of one's road vehicle into another's and then stealing their contents from the front seat of their car. It is a far more subtle and ingenius act, which provides no quarter to anyone who attempts it. It allows for one to maximise their chocolate bar haul by retrieving clawed bars and pushing other chocolate bars into the collection point. Instructions are provided below;

1. Identify a stash of chocolate bars teetering on the edge of the collection point in a Cadbury's chocolate machine
2. Deftly move the claw via the control stick, located centrally at the front of the machine, from its position over the drop zone of the machine to a position above the stash of chocolate. Take care to place the claw at the correct width from the stash so as to maximise potenital haul of chocolate bars.
3. Confer with fellow, trusted machine players to determine whether angle of entry and stash size are suitable for the 'smash and grab'
4. Carefully press the button on the sky side of the control stick to release the claw down towards the stash of chocolate whilst holding one's breath in anticipation of an exceptional haul from aforementioned stash.
5. Watch the claw dive into the stash at a width which allows maximum chocolate bar retrtieval for the drop zone whilst uncovering and pushing other bars into the collection point.

This manouvre, whilst unconventional, has the capacity to reduce a grown man to tears and to bring warring nations together. It is one that will forever be passed on to newer generations of chocolate machine lovers worldwide.

"The Uncle Vic"

- Inspired by the notable Vic Simpson of the Railway Bowling Club, Dubbo NSW.
This manouvre is one that involves a cheeky, yet masterful art of deception when faced with a delicately poised piece of chocolate in the cadbury chocolate machine which has a no tilt lockdown procedure in-built. With the no-tilt warning firmly entrenched in one's mind before an attempt, one must strive not to hit the machine with too much force as to set of the alarm to their eternal embarrassment and endless name calling by their fellow chocolate machine lovers. Instructions are below;

1. Identify potential chocolate bar teetering on the edge of the delivery zone and the collection point.
2. With the subtley and stealth like nature of a cheetah, stalk the chocolate bar prey by quietly nudging a fellow chocolate machine lover standing next to you.
3. Once sufficient advice has been received, use the open palm of your right hand or a softly clenched fist of the same to tap the perspex of the machine, being careful not to provide excessive force which would ignite the tilt alarm
4. Continue tapping the perspex unitl the solitary bar of chocolate osscilates from the edge of the drop zone into the collection zone to add to the stash from the smash and grab.