Research supports that chocolate can be enjoyed as part of a balanced, heart-healthy diet and lifestyle. Studies also have demonstrated that one of the major saturated fats in chocolate does not raise cholesterol like other hard fats–meaning chocolate can be enjoyed in moderation.

It takes 400 cocoa beans to make one pound of chocolate, and each cacao tree produces approximately 2,500 beans per year, and because cacao trees are so delicate, farmers lose, on average, 30 percent of their crop each year.

The four top chocolate-producing countries are Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Poland. Belgium is one of the largest producers, and much of the chocolate from there is still made by hand.

We are proud to use Callebaut Chocolate. Callebaut is a Belgian company, founded by Eugenius Callebaut as a brewery in Wieze, Belgium, in 1850. The brewery began producing chocolate bars in 1911 and soon switched entirely to chocolate production. They began producing chocolate couverture in 1925. In the 1950s, Callebaut, which was still a family-run business, began exporting its products to other European and North American markets, leveraging the fact that Belgian chocolate had earned an excellent reputation for its quality.

July 7 is World Chocolate Day, a nod to when chocolate was said to have been first brought to Europeon July 7, 1550. Official day or not, we do know that chocolate first arrived in Europe some time in the 16th century. There's also National Milk Chocolate Day on July 28, International Chocolate Day on September 13, and, of course National Bittersweet Chocolate With Almonds Day on November 7.