The Cocoa and Chocolate Industry; the Tree, the Bean, the Beverage

Allowing that there are many masterly books on cocoa, Knapp's aim was to produce one that was low-cost and easy to read. The cost may have been kept low due to the advertisements within, including one for J.M. Lehmann, "Established Nearly a Century" and Chocolat-Menier, "The Celebrated Vanilla Chocolate".

Founded in 1816, Menier was a French chocolate company with origins as a pharmaceutical tablet maker. Menier got into the business of chocolate while coating bitter-tasting pills with the ingredient. In 1830 Menier opened the first factory for cocoa powder in France and shortly later introduced wrapped bars. Since its discovery, chocolate was used as a medicinal product in Europe, a carryover from its Aztec heritage. Early Aztec writings imply that chocolate was good for stomach aches, fever and coughs. It was also used to mask the taste of other herbal medicines.