Welcome to the world of exquisite premium quality chocolate for Lovers of all things delectable! First established in Sydney in 1914, Hillier's has always prided itself on delivering breathtaking gustatory delights, making Hillier's one of Australia's most prestigious chocolate makers. Now located in Melbourne, Hillier's remains a fully Australian owned company.
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Our Delectable ProductsPlease click on the links below to view a selection of our premium quality Hillier and Newmans brand chocolates
Just in case you were wondering ...How is chocolate made?The chocolate making process requires delicate endurance, to produce great chocolate. The dedication to quality starts from the very first steps of drying and roasting the cocoa beans.
Following the roasting, the beans are then ground in mills and rolled to produce a fine paste. The heat generation of this process is great, which causes cocoa butter in the nib of the bean to melt. This creates chocolate liquor. A proportion of the chocolate liquor is put through an hydraulic press to remove the cocoa butter. The remaining chocolate is blended and refined. Cocoa butter is then added back into the chocolate liquor. At this stage for milk chocolate, sugar and milk is added, whereas only sugar is added if the chocolate was to be dark. All ingredients are then blended to form a doughy, gritty substance, before being ground through rollers to smooth it. The chocolate mixture is then conched. This is a mixing process which reduces the particle size, making the chocolate silky smooth. The chocolate is then cooled at a steady temperature and poured into moulds. How did chocolate originate?
There were several uses for the cocoa beans. The Mayan consumed them for medical purpose, believing that it cured coughs and flu, and also assisted with energy and strength levels. The drink was used for religious purposed and ceremonies such as weddings. It is also believed that cocoa beans were also used in forms of money.
In 1592, a Spanish conquistador Cortez, presented the beans to the Spanish Court. It is believed this was when the Europeans were first introduced to chocolate. Many European countries went on to set up Cocoa bean plantations. By the 1600’s cocoa was mixed with milk and sugar. This lead to the realization that cocoa beans were not a spice, rather a confection. In the early 1700, the world's first chocolate factory was introduced, in London. Soon other countries started to manufacture chocolate and the chocolate fascination had truly begun. Today chocolate comes in all sorts of forms and flavours. Chocolate is meant as an indulgence so do yourself a favour and only indulge in the best and most delectable chocolate – Ernest Hillier! |
The word chocolate originates from the word 'xocolatl', which means bitter water, in the ancient Aztec empire. It is said that the first people known to have made chocolate originated from Masoamerica. The Mayan and Aztec culture were the first to have drunk ground cocoa beans. For flavouring purposes they mixed the beans with vanilla, honey, flowers, cornmeal, chilli peppers and other spices. This all dates back to 250 AD.
In the early 1500’s Christopher Columbus’ journey to America lead him to discover cocoa beans in a cargo, of the coast of Honduras.