Learn About Rich History of Chocolate

August 11, 2008

You will find delicious drinks that are part of Mesoamerican culture that hold the root to chocolate’s history, but you might be surprised to hear that it was originally a bitter drink. For the Classic Period, the period of time spanning between 250 and 900 AD, the drink was a highly regarded part of the social aspect of the Mesoamerica culture. Mayans used to harvest the bean from the rainforests around their city. The cocoa tree was called “Cacahuaquchtl” and the chocolate was called “xocoatl”, which means “bitter water” when translated. They used to ferment and roast the beans then from this they create a paste. Water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and various other spices were added to the paste in order to create the spicy chocolate beverage.

The adoption of cocoa into the Aztec culture, once they began to play a dominant role in Mesoamerica, is an important one because it quickly became a type of currency. Eventually, chocolate became an integral part of the Aztec way of life. The Mayans reserved their drink for royalty, while the Aztecs allowed the drink to be consumed by priests, rulers, honored merchants, the most decorated soldiers.

It was widely believed that power and wisdom came from eating fruit and beans. They were the first to believe that cocoa beans had aphrodisiac qualities. In 1492, Columbus brought cocoa beans back from his trip, but they didn’t attract much attention at that point. That the beans could be used as a type of currency did catch on once the Europeans began to take additional trips to the Americas.

“Warm liquid” or “chocolatl” had long since replaced the Mayan “xocoatl”. By 1519, however, Hernando Cortex Begin had a cocoa tree plantation, the very first. In 1528 the Spanish king Charles V had his first taste of the spicy chocolate, which is fitting since that first plantation was claimed in the name of Spain. Soon it became a delicacy and was enhanced further when Hernando started experimenting by blending the beans with sugar. Further additives, such as nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves were added to the bean as well.

Neither other countries nor the working class were permitted access to the drink originally, as it was reserved for the nobility. Spanish monks gained access to the beans in order to cultivate them, and it was through the monks that the rest of the world was let in on the secret. It was shortly thereafter that chocolate began spreading throughout Europe, with the beans still being used as currency in some parts.

Since then chocolate has slowly spread throughout the decades and centuries, to become the delicacy it is day. Over time, it has dropped the religious and royalty purposes, and has experienced growth in the taste department. Continual research is conflicted on the question of chocolate being an aphrodisiac, but research does agree that a certain amount of dark cocoa is good for you.

No Comments »

No comments yet.

Fatal error: Call to undefined function post_comments_feed_link() in /home/heatherf/public_html/dahowlies/wp-content/themes/diet-health-theme/comments.php on line 29