Chocolates Drugs?
No, don’t be fooled by the drug drop. In this day and age, we almost always use the word to refer to things that are illegal and stuff. What I’m talking about leans toward the good stuff, how chocolate has always been good, even medically.
Going back to the glory days of Mayans, Aztetcs, and Early Europeans, chocolates have always been within their midst. Contrary to most chocolates we have these days, they always had theirs in liquid form.
For the Aztecs, cacao beans were brewed and then drunk thereafter thinking it was the elixir of life. It gave strength to their warriors, it allegedly cured the sick, as well as awakened those who were asleep and even the weak.
It may not sound very credible, but chocolate back then was celebrated more due to its medicinal effects than its taste. Chocolate was often served to the elite, but it was also given to soldiers, since like I said, it was a drink full of magic to them. They claimed that chocolates gave oomph to their stamina and helped them overcome fatigue.
When cacao beans reach European lands, people were taken aback. A taste of the chocolaty drink was reportedly therapeutic as it aided in digestion problems and even anemia. It has been written in black and white on a manuscripts from the 16th to 20th centuries that chocolate has over 100 medicinal uses.
England’s Dr. Hughes specifically pointed out that chocolate is beneficial to pregnant women. In the 18th century, it was even dubbed as the most excellent drink that can be used as an alternative for all other foodstuff. People of all ages and from all walks of life get to have it.
While for the Americans, chocolate has also swept them off their feet. The third president of the country, Thomas Jefferson, once said that “The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain.”
Unluckily though, with time, more and more ingredients have been added to the already stunning chocolate, making them less of a medicine and more of a sweet treat.
Categories: chocolate articles Tags: Aztec, Chocolate History, Mayans
The Guardian of Chocolate?
If you are keen on reading about the long history of chocolate, you probably have read somewhere that chocolate and Aztecs come hand in hand. Aztecs have associated cacao trees with the god of agriculture, Quetzalcoatl. According to myths, Quetzalcoatl was the one who brought cacao to the Earth. But such actions didn’t exactly make his superiors happy so he got kicked out of the heavens for giving it to humans. As he escaped, he swore to return one day as a “fair-skinned bearded man” to save the earth.
The earliest Aztecs highly thought of the cacao plant. They believed it to be a great source of strength and wealth and Quetzalcoatl was its guardian, or so they say. This pretty much explains why cacao beans are so special that they were even used as their form of currency at that time.
The Aztecs were among the first ones to work around with cacao beans, but they didn’t make use of it for any culinary purpose at first. They only developed interest in its edibility after observing certain animals, particularly monkeys. Only the pulp of the cacao tree was utilized then, only after a certain stretch of time did they begin using the beans, too.
Myth has it that since Quetzalcoatl left the Aztec empire, people have been awaiting his return. While patiently waiting, they sent offerings of cocoa beans and chocolate drink. Because of their high hopes, when they saw a ship nearing their shores, they instantly thought it was Quetzalcoatl. The Europeans took this vulnerability as a chance to easily conquer their lands, and they were obviously successful with their invasion
Chocolate’s history is indeed covered in legends and myths, not to mention depressing stories. But all these stuff make chocolate all the more interesting and entertaining.
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Categories: chocolate articles Tags: Aztec Chocolate, Aztec Civilization, Chocolate History, History, Myths
