Chocolate Facts
While this list is far from exhaustive, we hope this provides an overview of the history of one of the world’s most loved consumables.
1) Cacao is a tree, native to South America, whose seeds are the source of cocoa and chocolate.
2) Botanists believe that cacao trees grew wild in the Amazon region , however, the use of the cacao tree, for culinary purposes, did not begin until it reached the lush tropical lowlands of southern Mexico over 3000 years ago.
3) The oldest known civilization of the Americas (1500 – 400 B.C.), The Olmecs, were probably the first users of cacao.
Though few records survived, recent linguistic findings suggest the word “cacao” is derived from the word Kakawa in Mixe-Zoquean, believed to have been their language.
4) Cacao beans were so valuable in ancient Mexico that the Maya and subsequent Aztec and Toltec civilizations used them as a means of currency to pay for commodities and taxes.
The Aztecs, and other ancient indigenous cultures, believed chocolate to be an aphrodisiac. Although this is not exactly true, chocolate does contain phenyl ethylamine (PEA) which creates a chemical reaction in the brain similar to that of falling in love.
5) In the 17th Century, the first recorded case of “Death by Chocolate” occurred.
In San Cristobal de las Casa, in Chiapas, Mexico, upper class Spaniards were so addicted to chocolate intake that they refused a church dictated ban forbidding consumption of drink or food during Mass.
In response, the townspeople refused to uphold this edict and chose to attend worship services in Convents.
The Bishop of Chiapas, who passed the edict, was found dead due to a mixture of poison that was secretly added to his daily cup of chocolate. Rumor has it that he passed from this world with a smile on his face.
