History of chocolate
The history of chocolate dates back more than 5,000 years, when the cacao tree was first domesticated in present-day Mexico. Soon after domestication, the tree was introduced to Mesoamerica, where cacao drinks gained significance as an elite beverage among cultures including the Maya and the Aztecs. Cacao was considered a gift from the gods and was used as currency, medicine, and in ceremonies. A variety of cacao-based drinks existed, including an alcoholic beverage made by fermenting the pulp around the seeds, however, it is unclear when a drink that can strictly be defined as chocolate first originated. Early evidence of chocolate consumption dates to 600BC, when it was often associated with the heart and believed to have psychedelic properties.
Spanish conquistadors encountered cacao in 1519 and brought it to Spain, where it was used as a form of medicine. From there, it spread through Europe over the following three centuries, gaining popularity among elites. It was debated for its medicinal and religious merits, and sometimes regarded as an aphrodisiac. Following the transformation of chocolate from an elite drink into a solid, widely consumed product due to technological innovations, the 19th century saw the rise of Swiss and British chocolate makers, as well as the industrialization of production.
Since World War I, chocolate has continued to evolve, leading to the development of couverture and white chocolate. Manufacturers have also introduced alternative ingredients such as cheaper fats and lecithin. Production increased dramatically in the 20th century, with new markets emerging in Asia and Africa. Awareness of labor exploitation, especially child labor, has shifted attitudes toward chocolate production. As of 2018, the global chocolate trade was valued at over US$100 billion, concentrated among a relatively small group of cocoa processors and chocolate manufacturers.
Etymology
Chocolate is a Spanish loanword, first recorded in English in 1604 and in Spanish in 1579. Its precise origins are debated. It is popularly thought to derive from the Nahuatl word chocolatl, as early texts use the term cacahuatl for cacao drinks. Another hypothesis links it to the proposed Nahuatl word xocoatl, meaning "bitter drink", though scholars Michael and Sophie Coe argue against this, noting inconsistencies in the phonetic shift from "x" to "ch". A further theory suggests derivation from chocolatl in a Mayan language, meaning "hot water", though there is no evidence that chocol was used to mean hot.Some scholars argue it may come from the Nawat word chikola:tl, possibly meaning "cacao-beater", in reference to whisking cacao to produce foam. However, the meaning of chico'' remains uncertain. Anthropologist Kathryn Sampeck suggests that chocolate originally referred to a specific cacao beverage made with annatto in what is now Guatemala. By about 1580, when the Izalcos were major cacao producers, the word expanded to mean cacao beverages in general.
Early pre-Columbian
Cacao domestication in South America
The cacao tree is native to the Amazon rainforest. Evidence of cacao domestication exists as early as circa 3300BC in present-day southeast Ecuador by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture, before it was introduced to Mesoamerica. This emerged from research into residue in ceramics, which revealed starch grains specific to the cacao tree, residue of theobromine, and fragments of ancient DNA with sequences unique to the cacao tree. The domesticated cacao tree was then spread along the Pacific coast of South America. It is unclear when a drink that could be considered chocolate was first consumed, as opposed to other cacao beverages, given that there is evidence the Olmecs fermented the sweet pulp surrounding the seeds into an alcoholic beverage.Mesoamerica
Cultivation, consumption, and cultural use of cacao were extensive in Mesoamerica. Inhabitants of ancient Mesoamerica created varietals of cacao that grew abundant, high-quality fruit. The earliest evidence of cacao drink consumption in the region dates to the Early Formative Period. On the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico, the Mokayan people consumed bitter frothy watery cacao drinks by 1900BC. Archaeological evidence from the Gulf Coast of Veracruz, Mexico, demonstrates cacao preparation by pre-Olmec peoples by 1750BC. Traces of cacao have been found in bowls and jars dated between 1800 and 1000BC in the city of Puerto Escondido, Mexico. The decorations on these ceramics suggest that cocoa was a centerpiece to social gatherings among people of high social status.Although there is evidence that the Olmec consumed cacao as a beverage, little evidence remains on how it was processed. Some evidence suggests cacao consumption in the Olmec regions of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán. Large vases found suggest that the Olmec used cacao for mass gathering events such as sacrificial rituals.
Mayan
Early evidence for chocolate consumption is found among the Maya, in 600BC. Chocolate was used in official ceremonies and religious rituals, at feasts, weddings, and festivals, as funerary offerings and for medicinal purposes. Both cocoa beans and the vessels and instruments used for preparing and serving chocolate were given as gifts and tributes. It is unknown how, or if, commoners consumed chocolate. According to Grivetti, consumption was restricted to adult men, as the stimulating effects were considered unsuitable for women and children. Cocoa beans were also used as a currency by at least 400BC. Cocoa's social and religious significance motivated rich hobbyist gardeners to cultivate it in Yucatán, despite the challenging growing conditions. Nevertheless, most cocoa consumed was imported, primarily from Chontalpa, Tabasco.To make chocolate, cacao beans were fermented, dried and roasted. The Maya then removed the husks and pounded the nibs with manos on a metate built over a fire, turning them into a paste. This paste was hardened into solid chunks, which were broken up and mixed with water and other ingredients. When heated, a fat called cocoa butter rose to the surface and was skimmed off. The basic process of fermenting, roasting, and milling with metates continued unchanged until the 19th century.
Cacao paste was flavored with additives such as vanilla and earflower. Before serving, chocolate was poured from a height between vessels to create a highly sought-after brown foam. This process also emulsified some cocoa butter that had been added back in. To assess the quality of the drink, the Maya observed the darkness of the foam, the color of the bubbles and the aroma, as well as the origin of beans and the flavor. Chocolate was only one of several drinks made at this time out of cacao, including a drink containing maize and sapote seeds called tzune and a gruel called saca. There is uncertainty about how fresh cacao and its pulp were used in drinks.
The Maya produced writings about cacao that associated chocolate with the gods, identifying Ek Chuah as the patron god of cacao. There is controversy among historians about whether the mythological figure Hunahpu was believed to have invented cacao processing. Through various eras, cacao was considered a gift from the gods. In the late Mayan and during the Aztec periods, there was a strong symbolic connection between cacao and blood.
After the collapse of the Mayan Empire, control over cocoa-producing regions became a source of conflict between the Toltec and rival tribes. Chocolate was consumed as far north as the southern US by the elite of the Ancestral Puebloans. During the 9th to 12th centuries, cocoa was imported as part of a cacao-turquoise exchange within a Toltec-run trade network. The Maya introduced chocolate to the Aztecs.
Aztec
Chocolate was one of the two most important drinks to the Aztecs. It was a luxury, held in particular esteem as the other important drink, octli, was alcoholic, and drunkenness was stigmatized. Chocolate was regarded as a luxurious and sensual product to be celebrated, but at the same time consumption was considered at odds with an imagined austere idealized past, being overly decadent and weakening drinkers. It was incorrectly believed to be hallucinogenic. The Aztecs believed cacao was a gift from the god Quetzalcōātl. The bean was used as a symbol for the heart removed in human sacrifice, possibly as they were both thought to be repositories of precious liquids—blood and chocolate. The association with blood was reinforced by adding annatto, a food coloring, to turn the drink red.The Aztecs used chocolate in tributes to rulers and offerings to the gods. Aguilar-Moreno, citing Colonial Spanish sources, says chocolate was drunk exclusively by the Aztec elites, including the royal house, lords, nobility, and long-distance traders known as pochteca. At banquets, chocolate was served as a digestif at the end. According to Coe and Coe, soldiers in battle were the only exception to this exclusivity, as chocolate was considered a stimulant. Chocolate was included in their rations, eaten as pellets or wafers formed from ground cocoa. While mole poblano, a sauce that contains chocolate, is commonly associated with the Aztecs, it originated in territory that was never occupied by them, and the sauce was only invented after the Spanish invasion. It was served to human sacrifice victims before their execution. Grivetti says chocolate was also served to the sick, to treat ailments including coughs, stomach issues and fever, and anthropologists Martin and Sampeck say that although chocolate was not consumed in the same way as the elite among commoners during the Postclassical period, it was widely available across Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest for rituals around healing, marriage and travel.
Cacao was imported into central Aztec territory because frost stopped cacao trees from growing there. Most of the beans came from Soconusco, a region the Aztecs had conquered specifically for its cacao. The Aztecs required the conquered inhabitants to pay tribute in cacao. At the time of the Spanish conquest, 1.5 million trees were tended in Soconusco. Cacao was transported across Aztec territory by pochteca, carrying 24,000 beans weighing on their backs.
Although chocolate was primarily served as a drink, it was sometimes eaten. It was served both hot and cold. A gruel made by adding maize was held to be lower-quality than drinks without. While the highest-quality chocolate was pure, additions were often made, requiring the removal and then replacement of the foam. The most popular addition throughout Mesoamerica was dried and ground chili, though ingredients such as honey, dried and ground vanilla or flowers, and annatto were added. Today, Aztec chocolate drinks are commonly understood to contain cinnamon, despite the spice only being introduced to Mesoamerica by the Spanish conquest. Some Spanish observers claimed that certain chocolate recipes were considered aphrodisiacs, but these reports are not considered reliable. Women were responsible for processing cacao into a beverage.
The Spanish conquistadors recorded the currency value of the cocoa beans, noting in 1545 that thirty beans could buy a small rabbit, one bean could buy a large tomato, and a hundred beans could purchase a turkey hen. Royal stores were claimed to hold massive amounts of cocoa beans. Cocoa beans were often counterfeited, with substitutes including dough made of amaranth, wax or broken avocado pits.