The Ancient History Of Chocolate Essay Sample

Many thousands of years ago, Chocolate was not as it is today. Instead of a creamy, smooth bar it was a drink made by the Mesoamericans in today’s Mexico and Guatemala. The word chocolate actually comes from the Aztec word “xocoatl” meaning bitter drink. Chocolate is very old, archaeologists and historians believe that it is around 3500 years old. This means it is way older than Jesus. It has changed a lot over the years as different cultures changed things up.

The first ever creation of chocolate was by the Olmecs, who worshipped chocolate, believing it to be a gift from the gods. It was a drink that was only drunk by the upper class, as the cocoa beans were expensive. If you were allowed to drink chocolate then you were very respected, since drinking it was a sign of power and wealth. Many years later, after the Olmecs no longer existed, Mayans took up chocolate and made it their own.

Mayans had a plentiful supply of cacao beans so they had enough to have chocolate with every meal. Everyone could have chocolate and it was a very common drink. The Mayans grew the cocoa beans everywhere so the never ran out. There was no sugar in Ancient chocolate, so it was bitter and not very pleasant. The only ingredients were cacao beans, water and ground chilli, and there are some very spicy types of chilli in Mexico.

After Mayans came the Aztecs who did many things with Chocolate. They used it as face paint for ceremonies and they filled hollow gourds/pumpkins with chocolate and giving it their human sacrifices before they were sacrificed to the Gods. They also turned cocoa beans into a currency. For example, a tomato was worth 30 cacao beans and a turkey would be worth 200 cacao beans! Near the end of the Aztec era cocoa beans were valued more than gold! 

When the Spaniards found the Aztecs, they found the Cocoa beans and the chocolate and took it back to Spain. They made it a sweet drink. Spain began planting cocoa trees and soon had many but it was a drink that only royalty and rich people could have. Spain did not let other countries know about chocolate, but the secret came out when the Americans visited Spain. Chocolate travelled to the USA and it became a common drink like tea or coffee. in Brittan it became like beer, drunk in pubs, but only by men. woman were not allowed to drink it because alcohol was sometimes poured into chocolate. Chocolate didn't become solid until the 1850's when Englishman Joseph Fry added more cocoa butter to the drink and let it set. milk chocolate was made by Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle when the added condensed milk.

Chocolate didn't come to NZ for a while, and when it did in the  it was in bar form.