That sweet, chocolaty treat you enjoy on cold days has a lot of history behind it. It's been on the frontline of wars, stirred up controversy with the Catholic Church, and seen empires rise and fall.

"The chocolate-houses are his undoing." So Macheath, king of the underworld, is described by one of the characters in John Gay's 1728 hit play "The Beggar's Opera." Not gin. Not whiskey. Hot chocolate ...