Christopher Columbus tried it once but didn't like it. The mighty lover Casanova swore by it. Marie Antionette liked it mixed with orchid bulbs. Queen Victoria once sent her troops half a million pounds of it for Christmas.

Chocolate, in one form or another, has been with us since the ancient Mexican god Quetzalcoatl, so the legend goes, gave it to the Aztecs. From the jungles of centuries-ago Central and South America, chocolate traveled to the royal courts of Europe, and eventually to the American colonies.

In the Beginning, and for many years, chocolate was only served in a liquid form. Explorer Hernando Cortes, back in 1528, saw how the Aztecs ground up cocoa beans and made a drink out of them. He may have been more interested in the golden cups the beverage was served in, but anyway he took some beans back to Spain with him. At first cocoa was only available to the nobility, but by the next century "Chocolate Houses," open to everyone, made the drink popular with the English people. (They say that for a while, cocoa was even more popular than tea in London!)

It wasn't until 1828 that a Dutch chemist, Coenraad van Houten, figured out how to separate the cocoa powder and butter from the paste of the ground beans. After that it didn't take long until the introduction of solid "eating chocolate."

Because the lovely substance was...and of course, still is...so popular, it stands to reason that there would be a logical "spin-off" market in utensils to aid in the enjoyment of chocolate in its various forms.

Although both children and adults these days enjoy a nice hot cup of Cocoa or hot chocolate on a cold day, it was originally a drink for adults, and a beautiful "chocolate set" was a must-have item for the fashionable hostess. The sets included special cups and saucers along with a special chocolate pot. Some of the early sets ware made of porcelain, with delicate hand-painted designs. Sometimes the pots were made from silver. Most chocolate pots were made in a cylindrical shape, larger at the base and tapering toward the top. My of the early pots had the handle at right angles to the spout. The pots designed for chocolate were taller than teapots, so that the spout could be kept above the sediment. Another unusual feature of early chocolate pots was a hole in the lid, provided so that the drink could be stirred with a rod or swizzle stick.

In the late 1700S and early 1800s, the silver tea service was in fashion. A complete set included a teapot, sugar urn, creamer, coffee pot, hot water pot, sugar tonqs, tea caddy, small trivets, and a chocolate pot. A large tray held the whole set.

Early chocolate cups had their own special design too. They were tall, with a handle on either side. They often had covers. One cup was called the trembleuse. It was a beaker with one or two handles. It had a low galleried saucer to prevent the cup from tipping or spilling.

A porcelain chocolate set these days may be found in the $200 to $2500 range, depending on the beauty of the pattern and the quality of the porcelain. Only rarely is a silver chocolate pot found outside a museum.

Easier to find, and less pricey generally are the collectibles related to solid chocolate delicacies. Around 1905 Milton Snavely Hershey produced the first milk chocolate bar. Although the Hershey company made it a policy not to do any consumer advertising until 1970, there is still a remarkably good number of Hershey "advertiques" available to the collector. Items collectors look for include rare early red and black wrappers, early cocoa tins which displayed a cocoa chariot or cocoa baby symbol, or items bearing the signature of Milton S. Hershey. Point of purchase items like store signs and displays are also desirable. There are also posters, recipe pamphlets, Hershey milk bottles, and a great variety of tin candy containers , mostly dating from the 1970s on. There's even a market for items celebrating the extraordinary town of Hershey, PA., ranging from postcards to Hotel Hershey's cocoa butter soap. The most recent of the Hershey collectibles is the 2007 postage stamp depicting the silver-covered Hershey's Kiss.

Another American company, which has produced a good variety of collectibles is the Walter Baker company. Unlike Hershey, Baker believed very much in the power of advertising. Most collectors are familiar with the Baker's Chocolate trademark. It's a painting of a pretty chambermaid serving a cup of cocoa. The painting called "The Beautiful Chocolate Girl" was painted by a Swiss artist named Jean-Etienne Liotard in 1743. A lovely chambermaid brought the artist his breakfast drink and became his model for what became one of America' s most recognizable trademarks.

There seem to be chocolate collectibles within just about every collecting category, from chocolate pots to chocolate-scented teddy bears; from cookbooks to canisters, and even including older heart-shaped Valentine candy boxes. Here are a few current prices noted at shows, auctions, shops and on the Internet:

A Bournvita Sweet Dreams chocolate mug marked Wedgwood: $75

A Baker's painted pot metal advertising pencil sharpener in the shape of the trademark Chocolate Girl: $70

A Rookwood chocolate pot painted by Jeanette Swing, dated 1889: $450

An R.S. Prussia 10 1/2" chocolate pot sold at auction for $6500

A 1995 round red tin with 1915 drawing of Hershey Avenue: $10

Boyd's Hershey cow stuffed animal named "Chocolate": $17.00

Set of three "Beanie Babies- Hershey candy Bar: $75

AZTEC HOT CHOCOLATE

2 cups water
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon honey
A pinch of ground ginger
2 whole cloves or dash of ground cloves
Few grains of ground red pepper or crushed red pepper
(optional) 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small saucepan combine water, sugar, honey, ginger, cloves, and red pepper. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce to medium and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat. With a wire wisk, stir in cocoa and vanilla.

Stir briskly until frothy. Strain into warmed cups.

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