Land of Chocolate

Land of Chocolate. . , The history of chocolate begins in Mesoamerica, in what is now Mexico and it continues to favor life here. , The origin of the word "Chocolate" can be traced to the Aztec word xocoatl, and evidence of its preparation dates back 4,000 years. These ancient people were the first to ferment, dry, roast, and grind the beans of the cacao tree. Originally prepared only as a drink, chocolate was served as a bitter, frothy liquid, mixed with water, herbs, chili peppers, and wine. , Both the Mayans and Aztecs believed the cacao bean had divine properties, for use in sacred rituals of birth, marriage, and death. The Aztecs believed the bens were a gift of the god Quetzalcoatl, and the Latin name for the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, means "food of the gods.", For several centuries in pre-modern Latin America, cacao beans were considered valuable enough to use as currency. , Sweetened chocolate didn't appear until Europeans discovered the Americas and sampled the beverage. Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes may have been the first European to see chocolate consumed when he visited the court of Montezuma in 1519. , "The divine drink which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food." - Hernan Cortez, Chocolate was taken back to Europe and by the 17th century, once mixed with sugar, became a fashionable drink in high society. In the mid-1800s, Dutch and Swiss processors learned how to transform it into a solid form and the rest is history., Today, chocolate remains a staple of Mexican cuisine, as a drink, a confection, and in piquant mole sauces, and the long heritage of xocoatl lives on.