Have you ever thought on the early origins of the chocolate in your vending machine? Here Greg Deaton educates us.
“Chocolate is made from the seeds of the cocoa tree and was used by the Mayans from as early as the 6th century BC. It was thought to be a food of the gods and as such was used in many religious ceremonies – they were also the first culture to truly cultivate cocoa trees in plantations.
Later the Aztecs attributed the creation of cocoa to their god Quetzacoatl who descended from Paradise to earth bringing the first cocoa tree with him.
Both Mayans and Aztecs used cocoa as the basis of a thick, cold and unsweetened drink called Xocoatl that was thought to be an elixir of health.
Since sugar was unknown in Central/South America at the time they spiced the drink to add flavours with items such as chili peppers and corn meal.
By the 15th century the Aztec Empire covered much of what is Central and the northern part of South America today and tributes were often paid in the form of cocoa seeds as a form of currency, reflecting its highly prized status.
Chocolate was first introduced to Europe by Christopher Columbus (who discovered Nicaragua in 1502). He presented the cocoa beans to his benefactors Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain but it was Spanish friars who introduced cocoa to Europe more broadly.
It was Hernando Cortez, however later in 1528 who introduced cocoa to King Charles V of Spain with the necessary skills to turn it into chocolate as we would recognise it. He also postulated that were the bitter brew to be mixed with sugar and spices such as cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg and even cloves the results would be tantalizing! It became the fashionable drink of Spanish nobility and the secret of its production was kept from the rest of Europe for nearly 100 years!”
