We usually think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during
modern times. But actually, chocolate goes back to the ancient
people of Mesoamerica who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage.
For these people, chocolate wasn't just a favorite food--it also
played an important role in their religious and social lives.
The ancient Mayans grew cacao and made it into a beverage. The
first people clearly known to have discovered the secret of
cacao were the Classic Period Mayans. The Maya and their
ancestors in the Pre-Columbian Americas took the tree from the
rainforest and grew it in their own backyards, where they
harvested, fermented, roasted, and ground the seeds into a
paste. When mixed with water, chile peppers, cornmeal, and other
ingredients, this paste made a frothy, spicy chocolate drink.
By 1400, the Aztec empire dominated a sizeable segment of
Central America. The Aztecs traded with Mayan and other peoples
for cacao and often required that citizens and conquered peoples
pay their tribute in cacao seeds--a form of Aztec money. Like
the earlier Maya, the Aztecs also consumed their bitter
chocolate drink seasoned with spices--sugar was an agricultural
product unavailable to the ancient Mesoamericans.
Many people in ancient Maya society could drink chocolate at
least on occasion, although it was a particularly favored
beverage for royalty. But in Aztec society, primarily rulers,
priests, decorated soldiers, and honored merchants could partake
of this sacred brew. Chocolate also played a special role in
both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests
presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served
chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies.
Europe's first contact with chocolate came during the conquest
of Mexico in 1521. The Spaniards recognized the value attached
to cacao and observed the Aztec custom of drinking chocolate.
Soon after, the Spanish began to ship cacao seeds back home. A
very expensive import, chocolate remained an elite beverage and
a status symbol for Europe's upper classes for the next 300
years. When the Spanish brought cacao home, they doctored up the
bitter brew with cinnamon and other spices and began sweetening
it with sugar.
They managed to keep their delicious drink a Spanish secret for
almost 100 years before the rest of Europe discovered what they
were missing. Sweetened chocolate soon became the latest and
greatest fad to hit the continent. Because cacao and sugar were
expensive imports, only those with money could afford to drink
chocolate. In fact, in France, chocolate was a state monopoly
that could be consumed only by members of the royal court.
Like the Maya and the Aztecs, Europeans developed their own
special protocol for the drinking of chocolate. They even
designed elaborate porcelain and silver serving pieces and cups
for chocolate that acted as symbols of wealth and power.
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