Chocolate is the greatest thing humankind has ever created. Now, some people will argue that the wheel is our greatest invention, while others will try to argue it was the domestication of fire. Those people are wrong. It’s chocolate.

But why is chocolate so popular? Well, it tastes amazing, it releases positive endorphins into the brain, and, according to noted Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Remus Lupin, it’s super useful against Dementors.

That is to say, chocolate isn’t only a delicious and debatably nutritious treat, it’s a food source rich in cultural heritage, historical importance, and religious significance. Indeed, since humans first learned to harvest the cacao plant in Mesoamerica roughly 3 millennia ago, chocolate has had a supreme significance in human societies.

So, get ready to dip in and watch 3 fudging documentaries all about chocolate.

How Do They Put the Centres in Chocolates?

Throughout history, there have been questions that have plagued the human mind, puzzling us and leaving many of philosophers awake at night. Such questions as, “Why are we here?” “What is our purpose in life?” and  “How do they place the delicious centers into the middle of tiny pieces of chocolate?” Well, luckily for us, we present to you a documentary that answers one, if not all of these questions.

So get to the center of the question as this film takes us into a chocolate factory, where the viewer is introduced first-hand to how various chocolate treats are created. Recommended watching for any fan of chocolate. Not recommended watching for anyone who is hungry.

How Do They Put the Centres in Chocolates? , Don White, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

Elisha and the Cacao Trees

A charming film about family, following your dreams, and chocolate. Let’s head to Belize, where we meet 13-year-old Elisha, who wants to be an archaeologist when she grows up. She also lives on a farm where her family harvests cocoa plants, and prepares the plants for their transformation into chocolate. A fun documentary and engaging story, with some tantalizing secrets of chocolate growing thrown in.

Elisha and the Cacao Trees, Rohan Fernando, provided by the National Film Board of Canada

The Chocolate Farmer

Though we’ve been quite flippant up to this point, there is a dark side to chocolate. There are great ethical concerns in terms of exploitation, towards both humans and natural resources, as well as questions of how “fair” even fair trade products are. This important film is the story of Eladio Pop, a chocolate farmer and person of Mayan descent. A thought provoking introspective documentary with a personal story, but which also raises questions of both progress and cultural heritage.

The Chocolate Farmer, Rohan Fernando, provided by the National Film Board of Canada