By 1842 John Cadbury was selling no less than 16 varieties of drinking chocolate and 11 different cocoas! The earliest preserved price list shows that you could buy drinking chocolate in the form of both pressed cakes and powder.

The chocolate varieties boasted titles like 'Churchman's Chocolate’, 'Spanish Chocolate’, and 'Fine Brown Chocolate’. Cocoa was sold as flakes, in powder and in nibs, and went by names including, 'Granulated Cocoa’, 'Iceland Moss’, 'Pearl’ and 'Homeopathic’. It’s intriguing to imagine what the ingredients might have been!

18th century France produced pastilles (tablets) and bars. But it wasn’t until Bristol company Fry & Son made a ‘chocolate delicieux a manger’ in 1847 that the first bar of chocolate appeared, as we know it today.

The first ever chocolate bar was made from a mixture of cocoa powder and sugar with a little of the melted cocoa butter that had been extracted from the beans. The result was a bar that could be moulded. It might have been coarse and bitter by today’s standards, but it was still a revolution. Shaped into blocks and bars, and poured over fruit-flavoured centres, this plain chocolate was a real breakthrough. But there were many more treats in store...

The turning point for the Cadbury business was the introduction of a new processing technique, resulting in the 1866 launch of 'Cadbury Cocoa Essence', the UK's first unadulterated cocoa.

Before Cocoa Essence, the cocoa Cadbury produced, like that of many other manufacturers, contained high levels of cocoa butter. They had to add starches to mask its taste and texture. But George Cadbury had heard about an innovative cocoa press being used by a Dutch manufacturer called Coenraad Johannes van Houten. The press squeezed out much of the cocoa butter from the beans, so it wasn’t necessary to add starches. Could this be the way forward? Buying the press was a massive gamble. It was expensive and the brothers had little money. It had to be used for mass production and no one knew if there’d be enough demand for the product. But the Cadbury brothers decided to go for it - the first British manufacturer to go down this route. It was a momentous step, one that changed the British cocoa business and led to the future prosperity of Cadbury. The press was installed in their factory in Bridge Street, Cadbury Brothers’ new product appeared. Cocoa Essence was extensively advertised as 'Absolutely Pure. Therefore Best’, alongside medical testimonials. The marketing of Cocoa Essence helped increase sales dramatically and transformed a small business into the worldwide company that Cadbury is today.

The first Cadbury Easter egg was made in 1875. The earliest eggs were made with dark chocolate and had a smooth, plain surface. They were filled with sugar-coated chocolate drops known as 'dragees’. Later Easter eggs were decorated and had their plain shells enhanced with chocolate piping and marzipan flowers.

George Cadbury decided not to go for tunnel-backs because it limited the amount of light in the houses. Instead he chose rectangular cottages, each one with a large garden. In 1895, 143 cottages were built on the land he had bought privately, a total of 140 acres.

When building started at Bournville, the basic house type built in the Midlands was the 'tunnel-back'. It was cheap, large-scale housing complying with the Public Health Acts that had condemned 'back-to-back' housing. They were built in long rows with entrances to the back through common passages, built over on upper floors. Though they were an improvement on the previous houses, they didn’t look that attractive - lots of tunnel-backs meant endless rows of dreary monotonous housing. George Cadbury decided not to go for tunnel-backs because it limited the amount of light in the houses. Instead he chose rectangular cottages, each one with a large garden. In 1895, 143 cottages were built on the land he had bought privately, a total of 140 acres. The first houses were built in straight rows with no more than four houses in a terrace, but this soon gave way to more interesting layouts. Bournville was developed to be a 'garden village' and these were the guiding principles... Cottages grouped in pairs, threes or sometimes fours. Groups were set back from tree-lined roads, each house with its own front garden and vegetable garden with fruit trees at the back. All cottages were well built with light airy rooms and good sanitation. A typical cottage had a parlour, living room and kitchen downstairs and three bedrooms upstairs. Some early houses didn’t have bathrooms, but it was easy to add them later on. Houses should cost at least £150 to build: they were to house 'honest, sober, thrifty workmen, rather than the destitute or very poor'. Building was restricted on each plot to prevent gardens being overshadowed and keep the rural feel. The first houses were sold on leases of 999 years to keep the rural appearance of the district: mortgages were available for would-be purchasers. Bournville’s green environment reflected the aim of George Cadbury that one-tenth of the Estate should be 'laid out and used as parks, recreation grounds and open space.’ It attracted great interest from housing reformers, including the Garden City Association. In fact George Cadbury was instrumental in developing the Garden City Movement along with other reformers, including Sir Ebenezer Howard, who founded the Association in 1900 and was the father of modern town planning. He once said that Bournville gave him the drive to carry out his ideas. The first Garden City, Letchworth, was begun in 1902. Bournville became included within the boundary of the city of Birmingham in 1911, so it’s now a 'garden suburb', like Hampstead Garden Suburb in London.

Cadbury produced some of the finest examples of posters and press advertisements during this period. A popular local artist, Cecil Aldin, was commissioned to illustrate for Cadbury. His evocative images featured in early magazine campaigns and graced poster sites all over the country.

In 1905 William Cadbury commissioned the first Cadbury logo. He was in Paris at the time and chose Georges Auriol to create the design - Auriol also designed the signs for the Paris Metro.

The logo was an image of a stylised cocoa tree interwoven with the Cadbury name. Registered in 1911, it was used on presentation boxes, catalogues, tableware and promotional items, and imprinted onto the aluminium foil that was used to wrap moulded chocolate bars. Although we might not recognise it today, it was used consistently from 1911-1939 and again after the Second World War.

Bournville chocolate was launched in 1908. It was named after the Bournville factory where it was made, and was originally launched just as a plain chocolate bar.

Many variants have been added to the range over time including Bournville Nut, Bournville Fruit, Bournville Roasted Almond and Bournville Fruit & Nut.

Cadbury Dairy Milk started out in pale mauve with red script, in a continental style 'parcel wrap’ at its launch in 1905. The full Dairy Milk range became purple and gold in 1920.

The Cadbury script logo, based on the signature of William Cadbury, appeared first on the transport fleet in 1921. It was quite fussy to start with and has been simplified over the years. It wasn’t until 1952 that it was used across major brands.

A huge success from day one, Cadbury Dairy Milk first hit the shelves in 1905. But surprisingly, little money was put into advertising it until 1928.

No one knew quite what to say about it - some ads talked about its 'rich nutty flavour’ others said 'rich in cream’. It didn’t matter though - by 1928 it was the biggest selling chocolate product in Britain. At this point Cadbury ploughed investment into advertising, stressing its high milk content. From 1928 a series of poster campaigns using the iconic 'glass and a half’ measure of milk established Cadbury Dairy Milk as one of the first truly recognisable brands on the high street. The 'glass and a half’s simple message of food value combined with enjoyable eating has found its way on to TV ads and wrappers. And it’s still there today - becoming synonymous with Cadbury Dairy Milk worldwide.

Eamon De Valera became Taoiseach and headed up the new Irish government. This government protected Irish Industry by placing high taxes on imported goods.

Eight Milk Tray Chocolates, in a bar. Imagine a box of Milk Tray Chocolates. Now imagine picking eight of the most popular chocolates – keeping their distinctive shapes – and putting them in a bar!

The Milk Tray Bar had a cult following back in the 1970s and people still reminisce about it to this day. It was originally launched in 1947 and was a favourite through to 1981.

The first big post-war expansion for Cadbury Ireland came in 1948, when the company’s chocolate crumb factory was built in Rathmore, Co. Kerry, about 20 miles from Killarney.

Cocoa beans are processed into cocoa mass at Cadbury’s Dublin site and sent to the Rathmore factory, where the chocolate crumb is produced. Milk, sugar and cocoa mass are then combined in a gradual cooking process. The cooked mixture is then dried to form ‘crumb’, the basic ingredient for all Cadbury chocolate products. From Rathmore, the crumb is then sent back to Dublin to be made into finished chocolate bars. This Rathmore site was chosen because it gave immediate access to substantial supplies of quality milk. Continued investment in the Rathmore plant over time, makes it one of the most modern food factories of its type in the world. The Rathmore plant also exports chocolate crumb to the UK, US, Canada, Japan and other world markets.

Ever wondered how an early TV ad was made? We found this footage in the Cadbury archive showing the making of an early Roses TV ad.

The milk chocolate bar with a caramel and wafer centre launched in 1960, with the slogan ‘It’s got a crunch in the biscuit and a munch in the middle’. A classic 1960s TV ad for Skippy shows a swinging London couple getting off their scooter and going into a trendy coffee bar to pick up their Skippys.

In 1964, continued business expansion resulting from the introduction of new products prompted the next major step - the opening of the Cadbury factory in Coolock, a suburb of Dublin. The Taoiseach of the time, Seán Lemass, conducted the official opening of the new Cadbury Ireland factory. Production grew and many new products like Snack were brought to the market for the first time.

A button-shaped chocolate sweet with toffee inside. Launched in 1967 and withdrawn in 1971. The packs featured brightly coloured cowboys and Indians.

Curly Wurly, made of chewy caramel covered in milk chocolate, first appeared in 1970.

It’s evolved over the years - the recipe was changed so that the middle was softer, making the milk chocolate less likely to drop off. It’s still popular and seems to remind grown-ups of when they were young.

By the early 1980's the "era of new product development" was in full swing. This led to the introduction of new products such as Twirl, Moro, Chomp and Eclairs.

In fact, Cadbury’s Dublin factory became a centre of excellence for the manufacturing of these brands. Of course this required major capital investment to modernise the plant and the full support of the Irish Government and the IDA (Industrial Development Authority), who both recognised that Cadbury’s development programme would help Ireland’s export trade and provide maximum employment prospects. Was the new programme a succes? YES! So much so that: Sales increased significantly since the early 1970s. Even more importantly, exports increased substantially.

Milk chocolate covered bar with a toasted coconut and caramel centre. A variant of the mighty Boost, this coconut flavour was discontinued in 1994.

Textured fruit flavoured centres covered in milk, white and dark chocolate. Inspirations launched in 1989, in a carton with sliding drawers. Initially highly successful, it was retired in 1998.

Many other products are also produced at the Coolock factory, including Cadbury's Dairy Milk, Wholenut, Fruit And Nut, Golden Crisp, Tiffin, Mint Crisp, Turkish, Caramilk, Rum and Butter, along with other popular varieties.

While some brands are made for sale throughout the World, others are made solely for the Irish market. Altogether, Cadbury Ireland produces over 200 products. Products not made in Ireland are sourced from other Cadbury factories, such as those in the UK and France, to service the Irish market. You could enjoy a TimeOut in the UK, South Africa, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, the Middle East, Bermuda or in the Czech Republic that was produced in Ireland. Equally if you eat a Flake in London, it too has been produced in Ireland for export abroad. Cadbury’s chocolate, manufactured in Ireland, is now exported to over 30 countries all over the world including the UK, Canada, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Asia, The Middle East, Cyprus, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Holland, USA, Canary Islands, Bahamas, Czech Republic, Bermuda, Jamaica, Colombia, and Costa Rica.