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The centenary of the UK's favourite chocolate bar, Cadbury's Dairy Milk, is being celebrated this year. Hannah Davies takes a look back at its history.
Today's chocolate-loving public would barely recognise the first- ever bar of Cadbury's chocolate.
It was made in 1897 by adding milk powder paste to cocoa mass, cocoa butter and sugar. It was coarse and dry, leaving a sandy texture and was not sweet or milky enough for today's tastes.
Luckily, the company hit on a winning formula in 1905 when Cadbury's Dairy Milk was introduced and the chocolate which all of us recognise from our childhood came into existence.
Dairy Milk quickly became the country's biggest-selling chocolate bar and over the years stars like Cilla Black have been brought in to help advertise it.
Chocolate, originally grown by the Mayans of Central America, was introduced to England as a drink in the 1650s. High import duties on cocoa beans meant that only the wealthy could afford it.
London's first 'chocolate house' was opened in 1657, and drinking chocolate was considered a healthy and sophisticated alternative to alcohol.
Soon, manufacturers all over the world were beginning to discover the addictive qualities of the substance and its popularity grew as the price fell.
John...