Chocolate

About 2000 years ago a tasty treat was discovered.  It was the secret of the cacao tree.  The cacao tree resides in the tropical rainforests of the Americas.  This tree produces pods that contain seeds, which can be processed to make…..  chocolate!!!  

Chocolate grew from a Mesoamerican beverage into a worldwide sweet that encompasses many cultures and continents.  It was the ancient people of Mexico and Central America that were known to be the first to have made chocolate.  These people were the Mayans and the Aztecs.  They would grind the seed with various seasonings to make a spicy, frothy drink.  For Mayans it wasn't a just a favorite food, but chocolate played an important role in their social and religious lives.  It was during the Classic Period Maya (250-900 C.E.) that the Mayans and their ancestors took the cacao tree from the rainforest and grew it in their backyards where they harvested fermented, roasted and ground the seeds into paste.  The Mayans would then mix it with water, chilli peppers, cornmeal and other ingredients.  It would in turn make a spicy chocolate drink.  

In the 1400s the Aztecs controlled a sizable segment of Mesoamerica.  They traded with the Mayans and other people for cacao.  They would sometimes require the people pay their tribute in cacao seeds, a form of Aztec money.  Aztecs also consumed this bitter chocolate drink that was seasoned with spices.  It was a particularly favored beverage for royalty, although in Aztec society, primary rulers, priests and decorated soldiers could partake of this sacred brew.  In both Mayan and Aztec society, chocolate played a special role in royal and religious events.  Priests would present cacao seeds as offerings to their gods and also served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. 

It was 1521, after the conquest of Mexico, that Europe had its first contact with chocolate.  The Spaniards observed the Aztec custom of drinking chocolate and recognized the value of the cacao seed and it was shortly afterwards that the Spanish began shipping the cacao seeds back home.

The Spanish managed to keep their sweet secret of almost 100 years before the rest of Europe realized what they were missing.  Because it was an expensive import, chocolate remained an elite beverage for Europe's upper class for the next 300 years.  In France, chocolate was a state monopoly and it could only be consumed by royal court members.  Europeans developed their own special protocols for the drinking chocolate.  There were elaborately designed porcelain and silver serving dishes that acted as symbols of wealth and power.  It was when the cacao was imported into Europe that it was sweetened with sugar and other spices, like cinnamon, were added to it. 

The farming of cacao required lots of land and workers.  In order to keep up with the demand of chocolate, many European nations had to establish colonial plantations for growing these trees.  It was a combination of wage laborers and slaves which were used to create a plantation workforce. 

Of course today, new technologies and innovations have changed the taste of chocolate.  But it is still one of the world's favorite flavors.