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Who Invented Chocolate Milk? – The History of Chocolate Milk

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Are you a chocolate milk lover? If so, you’ll be interested in the history of chocolate milk! We will go over who invented chocolate milk, and where it was invented. 

Chocolate milk is a popular childhood drink. When you were a kid, did you ever find yourself wondering how chocolate milk came to be?

Believe it or not, there is controversy as to who actually invented this delicious, chocolatey beverage.

A glass of chocolate milk and a stack of cookies with a text overlay asking who invented chocolate milk and where was chocolate milk was invented.

Who invented chocolate milk?

The National History Museum in Britain credits the Irish physician Sir Hans Sloane with inventing chocolate milk. However, the answer to who invented chocolate milk isn’t that simple.

In 1687 Sloane traveled to Jamaica to take a job a physician to the governor, the second duke of Abermarle. It was in on this trip that Sloane tried a cocoa based drink popular in Jamaica. 

He thought the drink was “nauseous” and added milk to the cocoa beverage to make it more suited to his taste.

A man in a blue button down shirt holding a white piece of paper in front of his face with a question mark on it.

Sloane brought the beverage back to England and sold it to apothecaries, where is was manufactured and sold as medicine.

While Sloane is credited with making this version of chocolate milk that is widely consumed now, it’s likely he was not the first to add milk to the Jamaican cocoa drink to create chocolate milk. 

A historian named James Delbourgo asserted that as early as 1494 Jamaicans had “a hot beverage brewed from shavings of freshly harvested cacao, boiled with milk and cinnamon“. This occurred almost 200 years before Sloane was credited with inventing chocolate milk.

Where was chocolate milk invented?

While there is uncertainty with who was the first to invent chocolate milk, everyone can agree on where the beverage was invented.

A Jamaican flag waving in the wind in front of a a sunset.

Chocolate milk was invented in Jamaica, which is the third largest Caribbean Island.

Jamaica is home to 2.9 million people, which makes it the Caribbean Island with the fourth largest population. 

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National Chocolate Milk Day

Chocolate milk is so popular that there is a national day devoted to it! The day falls annually on September 27.

A glass of chocolate milk with chocolate milk swirling through the air around the glass.

Head to our post on National Chocolate Milk Day to learn more about this national day in September.

You don’t have to wait until September to enjoy chocolate milk though, you could pour yourself a glass in February. Chocolate is one of the minor symbols of Valentine’s Day, so it’s the perfect excuse to enjoy some chocolate milk!

Let us know in the comments section if you’re a fan of chocolate milk – or maybe you prefer hot chocolate! We’d love to hear from you.

Pin this post about the history of chocolate milk for later

Would you like a reminder of this post about the history of chocolate milk? Just pin this image to one of your trivia boards on Pinterest so that you can easily find it later.

The ingredients for homemade chocolate milk with a text overlay asking who invented chocolate milk and where was chocolate milk invented.

Looking for a chocolate milk recipe?

No post about chocolate milk would be complete without a recipe. This is one of my favorites.

Yield: 1

Homemade Chocolate Milk

A glass of homemade chocolate milk on a slate background surrounded by chocolate squares.

This easy recipe for homemade chocolate milk only takes 5 minutes to make. Make yourself a cup today!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of milk
  • 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon of confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Instructions

  1. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and sugar.
  2. Put the milk in a glass, and add the sugar/cocoa mixture while mixing the two together with an immersion blender.

Notes

If you don't have an immersion blender, you can use a whisk, or a fork. However, it might not be as smooth as if you used an immersion blender.

You can use any type of milk you like - whole milk, skim milk, almond milk, oat milk, etc.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 115mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 9g

Nutritional information is approximate due to natural variation in ingredients and the cook-at-home nature of our meals.

© Jess
Cuisine: American / Category: Drinks
Jess author photoAbout the author

Since graduating from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jess has been living and working in Los Angeles, CA. She is a freelance writer, specializing in content related to fashion, food and drink and film industry topics. Find out more about Jess here.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are "affiliate links." This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission from the sale, but the price is the same for you. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

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