The Mayans drank it, Lasse Hallström made a film about it and the rest of us get over the guilt of eating too much of it by eating more of it. The story of the humble cacao bean is a bona fide out-of-the-jungle, into-civilization tale of culinary wonder.
Without this creamy, bitter-sweet confection, Valentine’s Day would be all cards and flowers, Easter would turn back into another dull religious event and those halcyon days of watching the dog throw up because you replaced the strawberry innards of the pink Quality Street with salt would be fanciful imaginings.
The cacao tree, which chocolate comes from, originated in Mesoamerica. Native Peoples used the cacao tree to produce a potent drink that is a far cry from the modern sweet incarnations of chocolate today. Historians disagree over where exactly in Mesoamerica the trees first appeared, but what they do agree on is that people first began to prepare cacao for human enjoyment in Mexico. Native Peoples used cacao beans to make drinks, as religious offerings, and they were even used as a from of currency. Nowadays, when people think of Mexican chocolate, they picture the cinnamon-scented variety commonly used in many Mexican style dishes and beverages.
The chocolate prepared in Mexico in pre-European Mexico possessed a strong, sour taste different from modern chocolate. It is well-known that Native Peoples prized this chocolate and used it in a variety of dishes and drinks. The first known large-scale "farmer" and consumers of chocolate were the Mayans, who inhabited Central Mexico.
The Aztecs, who rose to dominance after the Mayans, inherited the Mayan affinity for chocolate, which became even more culturally significant for them than it had for the Mayan people. Chocolate was a symbol of power and authority to the Aztecs, and people even used cacao beans as currency. The cacao beans were so valuable, that counterfeiting by filling cacao shells with clay was not uncommon.
The most popular use of the cacao bean in pre-European Mexico was to produce a chocolate drink.
To make the drink, producers fermented, toasted, and ground the cacao bean into a powder which provided the drink's base. Often, people used different spices such as chiles, anise seed, allspice, and vanilla to add flavor. While this drink was a favorite among the rich, it was also religiously significant. The Aztecs gave the drink to human sacrifices to purify them. The Spanish also quickly developed a taste for chocolate not long after their arrival in Mexico. They then introduced it to Europe where a hot chocolate like drink became very popular.
Modern Mexican chocolate still retains many qualities of its predecessor. Makers still use some of the same spices as the Aztecs, as well as cinnamon and sugar to produce a chocolate with a unique flavor, texture, and aroma. It provides the base for hot chocolate beverages and serves as a key ingredient to several Mexican dishes such as Mole. Mexican chocolate is best recognized when sold in the form of small solid discs. The Spanish began the practice of storing chocolate in the shape of discs in the 1500s, and it continues to today. The modern world owes thanks to Mexico's long history with chocolate for providing one of the world's favorite treats.
Chocolate is enjoyed and celebrated in many parts of the world as a sweet treat and a romantic gift. Chocolate’s unique taste and its association with dynamic and universally desired qualities such as love and vitality, has fascinated us for centuries. The history of chocolatebegins in the tropical rainforest of Mesoamerica, when ancient cultures of the region ground cacao beans to make a bitter drink that was used in ceremonies and everyday life.
Throughout its history, chocolate has been consumed by people in one form or another. Olmec historians have found vessels with chocolate residue pre-dating this civilization from Veracruz. Mayan glyphs and chocolate residue found in cups indicate that they were consuming chocolate as early as the year 250. Mayan territory extended over southern Mexico and parts of some Central American countries. The Mayan had an extensive trade network, which allowed Mayans living in cool, dry areas to enjoy the tropically grown cocoa bean. Mayan paintings show kings, gods and animals drinking chocolate. Drinking vessels were specially labeled with a specific glyph designated for the word chocolate. Some of these vessels were elaborately decorated; suggesting that chocolate was a favorite beverage among the Mayan.
Mayans probably processed chocolate by first fermenting the cacao pods, and then drying and roasting the beans. They would then remove the shells and grind the shelled beans into a paste, then mix it with water, chili peppers, cornmeal or other ingredients. Mesoamericans didn’t have sugar, but they may have used other available ingredients such as honey and vanilla to sweeten the drink.
By the 13th century, the Aztecs controlled a vast area of Mexico that extended into the dry central highlands, where the cacao bean does not grow. Aztecs imposed taxes on the people they conquered and included in their empire. The Mayans, who had been using cacao beans as a form of currency, were forced to offer cacao beans as tributes to Aztec rulers. As these beans arrived to the empire from the distant moist lowlands, they were a valuable item and only the ruling class could use them to make drinks. The famous Aztec ruler Moctezuma is said to have drank fifty cups of Chocolate a day. All other classes used the beans for money.
The chocolate drink had a number of other purposes in Mesoamerica. It was used to treat cold and fever symptoms. It was also used in religious ceremonies and as offerings to the gods. Sometimes seeds from the annatto tree were mixed with the drink to give it a blood red color for religious purposes.
In the 16th century, the Spanish conquistadors noticed right away the importance of chocolate in Mesoamerican culture. They took the beans back to Spain, where Astorga, Spain would be the European birthplace of chocolate. It is here where new recipes for the drink developed including the addition of sugar as well as new recipes to change the texture. It should be noted that as recently as 1914 there were 49 chocolate manufacturers around the city. The drink’s popularity quickly spread all over Europe and other countries would take the lead in its manufacture and fame. Most notably today the most famous chocolate comes from Switzerland, Belgium, the United States, Mexico and Spain.
From its noble origins of antiquity to its modern global appeal, chocolate lovers have been discovering new ways to indulge on the treat. One thing has always remained the same however; the high value placed on the product and its special flavor.
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