Topic: Chocolate
The beginning of chocolate is the cacao tree, known by ethnobotanists as “theobroma cacao.” According to the article, “Introduction: Chocolate’s History at a Glance,” chocolate in its raw state grows in a pod like a pea, but on trees 40-60 feet tall. Cacao is native to the tropics of America. Ancient Mayans called chocolate or cacao in its bitter, raw state “food of the spirits.” The caco tree has wide branches and grows wild in Central and South America, Africa, and in the tropical parts of Asia since prehistoric times.
Archaeologists have dated cacao as chocolate being eaten by the Mayan Indians of Mexico as early as 600 CE. The cocoa bean had been worshipped by the Mayans as a heavenly gift. The beans were put on a pedestal and worshipped as an idol. In its raw form, chocolate is more addictive than heroin. Scientists currently study how chocolate addiction changes the brain, and which chemicals are released by the brain by eating chocolate.
Those powers in cacao beans were said to be magical by the Maya. The beans played a distinctive role in rituals, healings, and religious worship. Today scientists study the healing powers of chocolate or cacao nibs and its powers as a stimulant.
Cacao beans were used historically for their medicinal powers to heal fevers, coughs, and pregnancy discomforts such as morning sickness.
The patron deity of cacao (and coco) merchants is the Maya spirit-god called Ykchaua. How the Mayans prepared cocoa as a healing medicinal was to drink hot cocoa in its bitter state without adding sweeteners. The bitter stimulant was made of crushed, ground cacao pods, beans, and nibs with added spices native to the tropics in the local area. An example would be chili peppers and chocolate drank as a bitter hot beverage.
In the northern part of Mexico, Aztecs began to sweeten chocolate with vanilla beans and thick, raw, creamed, unfiltered honey. The sweetened chocolate drink had the name xocoati, which they pronounced chocolatel. The translation is “bitter water.” The Aztec’s explanation is that Questzalcoatl, their deity reining over farming, floated down to Earth with coco trees from the nether world because chocolate brings wisdom and power over nature as a healing medicinal drink. Latter, the cacao beans (coco beans) became the Aztec form of currency with gold dust. Sometimes very thin shavings of gold or gold dust was floated on top of the chocolate drink.
If you want to read all about the history of chocolate with the Aztecs, there’s a book, The Florentine Codex that describes Aztec life with chocolate. The drink, according to the book is “the chocolate drink of nobles.” There are many references to the powerful medicinal nature of chocolate. See “Amazon.com: Early Modern Ecostudies: From the Florentine Codex.” Also see, “The Florentine Codex Project.” You might be interested n reading more about how chocolate was used among pre-Columbian native Mexicans from this open source community.
Columbus returned to Europe with the first cocoa beans. At that time in Europe, the beans were put on the back burner. Europeans were introduced once more to hot chocolate as a beverage when native Mexican Emperor Moctezuma met the explorer Cortes and his army. The cups of coco were served to the conquistadors with foaming honey and spices on top of the hot beverages.
By 1528 Cortes returned to Spain carrying the equipment needed to brew the Aztec king’s chocolate drink. At that time in Spain, the beans had a reputation for being addictive which they were, and powerful medicine. At that point, monks hid the beans in monasteries. The only persons in Europe with access to the beans were the highest nobility. The beans also had a reputation for altering feelings as well as healing pregnancy mood swings.
Then in the 17th century, Italian explorer, Antonio Carletti made sure cacao beans became available to the mass populations all over Europe. A century later, “Chocolate Houses” like today’s coffee houses became popular in the 1700s. Even the English king, Charles 11 tried to get rid of the chocolate houses for being a place where people met to discuss politics over hot cocoa beverages.
In France, chocolate was declared a dangerous drug around the time of the French revolution. By the late 1700s, a new idea, mixing chocolate with milk became popular as a medical drink meant to heal. Sir Hans Sloane, personal doctor to Queen Anne, mixed chocolate with milk as a healing medicine and then sold his secret milk and chocolate recipe and later sold it to the Cadbury brothers who made a fortune with their Cadbury candies made from milk and chocolate. The combination grew popular in Europe.
In the next century, the Dutch chemist, Johannes Van Houten, produced cocoa powder to make the chocolate drink so you wouldn’t have to pulverize the cacoa beans and nibs. He developed a hydraulic press that crushed the cocoa beans, grinding them into a fine cocoa powder. At this point, candy companies made fortunes by mass producing chocolate in the form of candy as well as cocoa powder for beverages.
Original article:
Anne Hart
November 6, 2009
Ground report.com
The quality of the info is what keeps me on this site, thanks!
Wish You a Merry Christmas. 🙂
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Wow such a truckload of facts….mind boggling…thx 4 sharing
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Your precisely right on this blog post
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[…] On this day ten years ago… via History of Chocolate Timeline […]
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