Why did chocolate, and not red beans, become the go-to flavor for confectioneries in the west?

by leonua

As far as I know, both were not indigenous to Europe (cacao beans from South America and red beans from the Far East). So, why did the former become dominantly popular while the latter become the 'exotic flavor form Japan'?

chaosakita

Adding onto this, how did Europeans discover that chocolate could be sweet? Apparently the Aztec way of preparing chocolate made it rather bitter.