History of Chocolate

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the origin of the word 'chocolate' and the history of chocolate as we know it today. According to this paper, the Maya and Aztec considered chocolate to be a drink reserved for royal and religious events, and priests even presented cacao seeds as offerings to the Gods.

From the Paper:

"The Aztecs associated chocolate with Xochiquetzal, the goddess of fertility, while in the New World, chocolate was consumed in a bitter and spicy drink called xocoatl, which was usually seasoned with vanilla, chili pepper, achiote, known today as annatto, and pimento, and was used as a remedy for fatigue, probably due to the theobromine content (Chocolate). Throughout Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, chocolate was an important luxury and the beans were often used as currency (Chocolate). Other beverages unique to this era, combined chocolate with such edibles as maize gruel and honey (Chocolate). It is said that xocoatl was an acquired taste, and one Spanish Jesuit missionary wrote during the late sixteenth century:
"...having a scum or froth that is very unpleasant to taste. Yet it
is a drink very much esteemed among the Indians, where with they
feast noble men who pass through their country. The Spaniards,
both men and women...are very greedy of this Chocolate...they make
diverse sorts of it, some hot, some cold, and some temperate, and put
therein much of that chili" (Chocolate)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Chocolate." Retrieved December 08 2005 from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate
• "Chocolate1 Through the Years." Kara Chocolates. Retrieved December 08 2005 from:http://www.karachocolates.com/chochist.html
• "From bean to bar." Swiss News. December 01 2002. Retrieved December 08 2005 fromHighBeam Research Library Web site.
• "History of Chocolate." The Field Museum. Retrieved December 08 2005 from:http://www.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/history_intro.html
• Stewart, Martha. "Chocolate has Long, Rich History." The Palm Beach Post. January 31 1999, Retrieved December 08 2005 from HighBeam Research Library Web site.

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