A Brief History of Chocolate14
 

Chocolate traveled to the Low Countries with the Duke of Alba. By
1730, it had
dropped in price from $3 per lb to being within the financial reach of
those other than
the very wealthy. The invention of the cocoa press in 1828 helped
further to cut prices
and improve the quality of chocolate by squeezing out some of the
cocoa butter and
giving the beverage a smoother consistency.