Exoticism and the Gentrification of Chocolate: From Confectionary Competitions to Peruvian Explorations

During my trip to Peru this spring break, I was fascinated by plethora of stores selling locally-grown Peruvian chocolate and related derivative beverages. In afternoon excursions to local chocolate shops, I stumbled upon a store called “ChocoMuseo” carrying Peruvian-made chocolate goods including soaps, lotions, and of course all kinds of chocolate bars. Over 40 varieties were found on shelves spanning different regions of Peru: dark, milk or white chocolate with embedding choices such as nibs, coffee, nuts and fruits. Although the experience was fascinating, I quickly ran into several other locations of ChocoMuseo with the exact same logos, offerings and prices. What I had originally associated as a unique local store, was actually a large corporate chain with branches in Nicaragua, Punta Cana, Cusco – countries which are not even top exporters of cacao beans. Although I was slightly disappointed, foreign tourists from North America and Europe flocked to the store.

Figure 1. All the different kinds of chocolate bars produced by ChocoMuseo including 70% dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate with different kinds of embedded ingredients such as salt, nibs, coffee beans, and M&Ms.

Figure 2. A variety of products covered by ChocoMuseo including body lotion, Chocolate oil, chocolate soap and chocolate essence.

Although disappointed by my discovery, I was intrigued by the tourist fascination with these foreign goods while there were no locals browsing any of the stores, most likely due to the prohibitive prices. In this way, I had stumbled upon the idea that this product had become gentrified in the heart of the source. From lecture, personal research, and some basic experiments, I decided to explore this phenomenon which I believe is a combination of exoticism and gentrification of chocolate taste in developed nations. As I gazed at all the luxury perfumes, soaps, lotions, cooking oils all at premium prices in this ChocoMuseo store, I was fascinated by this idea of gentrification of taste and the role that exoticism plays in our social habits related to consuming food. In this final essay, I explore the sociohistorical background regarding this phenomenon, which I henceforth term “exotic gentrification” and the social implications for how we now interact with others about our food. I explore three assertions in how exotic gentrification impacts society including how it adds a dimension for people to judge their food, not from taste or presentation, but rather from knowing where their food originated; it has driven stratifications and attempts to put a subjective taste into objective and quantitative measures; finally, it has exacerbated the inequality present between the producers and consumers of these exotic goods.

Today, the most prominent examples of this exotic gentrification can be found in chocolate competitions made to judge all kinds of rare and exotic cacao as well as popular trends such as eating foreign-specialty vegetables and meats such as Kobe Beef. However, the origins of this phenomenon can be traced back to the beginnings of colonialism. For instance during colonialism from the 1600 to 1700s when more than “seven hundred thousand pounds of cacao and chocolate” were transported to Europe, “the reality was that Europeans unwittingly developed a taste for Indian chocolate, which involved not only bodily changes but also the absorption and fascination with cultural material” (Norton 2004). Just as Spaniards learned to “replicate the taste of Mesoamerican chocolate, they also learned to internalize the association between chocolate and noble distinction” (Norton 2004).

Figure 3. Cavalier and Lady Drinking Chocolate indicating the status the requisite status of people drinking chocolate in the colonial era.

However, these associations quickly faded as chocolate production began to modernize through the industrial revolution. While today people are drawn to Swiss and Belgium chocolate for its quality and individual character, the Swiss and other chocolate industries all across Europe, experienced rapid industrialization in the 1800s as they “equipped with vast factories provided with the newest machinery worked by the cheap force of nature, decreased the novelty of chocolate (Farrer 1908). This process made it easy for the twentieth century “rising industrial chocolate makers (Hershey, Mars, Cadbury, Nestle) [to] thoroughly efface any links with the sweaty, tropical farms whence their primary ingredient came” (Leissle 2013). This starkly contrasts today’s consumer environment which not only wants to know what they are eating, but where their food comes from and how it was made.

An example of exotic gentrification is indeed my excursion to Peru and these chocolate stores that are purely in place to engage wealthy tourists from foreign nations. However, a less extreme example of this can also be found in fascination regarding single origin bars, chocolate made from beans from a single region, country or plantation, which has been experiencing “increasing demand along with organic, local produce” (Leissle 2013). An illustrative statistic tells us that “in 1997, there was one bean-to-bar artisan chocolate maker selling commercially in the U.S. – Sharffen Berger” and today “there are at least thirty-seven” (Leissle 2013). With a clear resurgence in healthy eating, locally sourced foods, and all-natural products, we also see extremes of this all co-mingled with a touch of exotic gentrification of food items.

More importantly, how does this exotic gentrification affect the social context of consumption of chocolate today and how we interact with each other when we consume such foods? I explore three assertions in how exotic gentrification impacts society including how it adds a dimension for people to judge their food, not from taste or presentation, but rather from knowing where their food originated; it has driven stratifications and attempts to put a subjective taste into objective and quantitative measures; finally, it has exacerbated the inequality present between the producers and consumers of these exotic goods.

First, the exoticism alters our perception of food, not to taste, but to the associations behind it. Although this can yield benefits in situations where people can support a cause for fair trade foods, focusing on information can also distort our actual taste and feelings toward an object to an extreme. Primarily, I argue that this type of exoticism and gentrification of chocolate leads to flawed perceptions regarding the quality of a chocolate based not on its taste, but rather due to the associations regarding a food item. To test this hypothesis, I utilized several bars of the ChocoMuseo items I had brought from Peru to conduct a basic experiment.

After gathering particular information regarding the award-winning “Tumbes” region chocolates I had purchased from my trip, I conducted basic taste tests and interviews with friends and students about how this chocolate tasted. For one group, I provided the full information regarding the background of the chocolate saying that it was locally produced in Peru and had received an award from a prestigious French competition, there was indeed a more positive reaction with the most frequent response being, “I can really taste how different it is from regular chocolate!” However, for students I did not prompt any background and just a blind taste test, the most frequent response was that it “tasted the same as regular chocolate”. These results are highly indicative of the views that we have towards food today including the idea that people can often distort their actual tastes and feelings toward a certain food just based on knowing particular information. In this particular example, exoticism seems to produce irrational results with little practicality and I would argue that distorted perspectives can have negative implications.

Figure 4. Unique chocolate bars proclaimed “Best Cacao of the World” based on the award-winning cacao from the Tumbes region of Peru.

Another common avenue we can see this exoticism appealing to unsuspecting tourists is readily reflected in tourism advertisements targeted at the wealthy luxury traveler from more developed nations for “authentic and exotic experiences” such as in this advertisement from a partner of ChocoMuseo:

Figure 5. An advertisement from the Luxury Peru Travel Company for an “exotic” experience of being hosted at a cacao farmer’s home and learning about how to make chocolate and coffee.

Second, gentrification of taste in chocolate consumption can now be used to construct social stratifications of both foods and people in the same way as some other activities now do such as wine or opera. A unique example that I explore is the impact that various confectionary and chocolate competitions have as the ultimate manifestation of turning a taste, which is in its purist form a subjective pursuit into an objective pursuit with quantitative measures. Away from the purview of the mass consumer market, chocolate competitions perpetuate a culture of couture consumption – luxury goods out of reach for the common man or woman. For example, in my browsing of Peruvian chocolate from ChocoMuseo, store associates often recommended a bar of award-winning “Tumbes-region” chocolate costing $8 USD. Reflecting gentrification, this price is somewhat palatable to some of our tastes, but was this was prohibitively expensive by local Peruvian standards. After buying a couple bars given the strong recommendation, I checked whether the story matched up. Indeed, “cacao producers from Tumbes were awarded the International Cacao Award at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris” (Chase 2013).

Figure 6. Lionel Clement, French born chocolatier is a U.S. Candidate at the World Chocolate Masters competitions.

Throughout ChocoMuseo, articles espoused the discovery of rare chocolate species that had recently been found in Peru, which drove demand due to a combination of rarity and exoticism (Hall 2013). Unsurprisingly, powerful chefs and food influencers also perpetuate this cycle. When Fortunato, the world’s most rarest cacao found in Pure Nacional, in the high altitudes of Peru, was discovered, “Van Gerwen, owner and chief chocolatier at the House of Anvers…[obtained the] exclusive rights to sell the world’s most sought after chocolate to the Austrian market” (Hall 2013). With bars sold at a steep price of 10 dollars, this is just one example that underscores some of the exotic gentrification that occurs when selling a rare good leading back to the ancestral roots of Peruvian cultural heritage and cacao biological origins. To herald in a seemingly new era of opulence for chocolate consumption, Van Gerwen states “This is what chocolate would have tasted like when it was being enjoyed by European royalty” (Hall 2013). When related to the international stage for wine, where thousands of wine magazines and competitions award medals and scores on hundred point scales, chocolate appears to be following in a similar direction. As mentioned, however, it is nearly impossible to fit a subjective pursuit into an objective rubric. Studies suggest that wine competitions showing “little concordance among judges across nearly 13 U.S. wine competitions and 4,000 wines” (Hodgson 2009).

Figure 7. One of the largest competitions of American wines in the world, Cloverdale Citrus Fair Wine Competition hosts distinguished judges scoring wines on a 1 to 100 scale.

Third and finally, the most damaging effect of this gentrification is that it disconnects workers from the actual product they produce, creating both social and financial disparities. Not only does this phenomenon underscore the income inequality between consumers and producers of such a good, it also contributes to undue exoticism, fascination, even humor without an appreciation for the deep historical meanings for a culture (Terrio et al. 2005). To examine the income inequality issue, we can refer back to a video we watched in lecture regarding Ivory Coast chocolate workers. With increase in demand for such goods, income disparity issues become exacerbated as higher demand grows for these exotic foods (Leissle 2013). Additionally, the divergence in perspectives between producer and product are clearly present when we see chocolate workers in the Ivory Coast tasting chocolate for the first time:

Figure 8. A video from Metropolis showing Ivory Coast cacao farmers tasting chocolate for the very first time, indicating the true disparity between farmers and the consumers of the final good. Though exaggerated, it reflects a reality of producers and consumers of some types of fine exotic chocolate.

Just as important, exoticism often breeds humor rather than understanding and appreciation. For example, in 2013, Anthony Bourdain took a trip to Peru travel to “Chiclayo to see the rare chocolate trees that produced their $18 chocolate bars” (Shankman 2013). During the process, he visits a “shaman who blesses both chefs and prepares a mixture to bless the beans” and the writer claims that “Bourdain is amazingly able to keep a straight face throughout the shamanic exercise, even when soda is spewed on his face” (Shankman 2013). I argue that this attitude is representative of developed nation populations at large, reflecting the perception of certain exotic and disconnected cultures as archaic and oftentimes humorous. To the extent that exoticism and gentrification cultivates this kind of disconnect, there is a great need to narrow this income gap, enforce fair trade mechanisms and decrease gentrification for exotic goods.

Figure 9. Anthony Bourdain getting a traditional ritual treatment from a local shaman in his journey to find rare Peruvian cacao trees in the Andes.

Ultimately, exoticism and gentrification produce some concerning implications for how we interact with our food in a social context. For those whose perspectives are distorted due to information regarding a food, it can lead to irrational preferences or incorrect beliefs. For those who attempt to objectify tastes that are inherently subjective, chocolate can create stratifications for quality and people based on their knowledge of the food. Finally, the cultural and financial expense of the gentrification of foods is clearly reflected in the disparity between producers and consumers of fine exotic chocolate today. The ground is ripe for change in the chocolate industry, and reversing this process of gentrification with a greater understanding for the cultures and origins of this storied food item is the way to start.

Multimedia Sources: 

Chase, Rachel. “Peruvian Cocoa Wins Award in Paris, France.” National. Peru This Week: Living in Peru, 7 Nov. 2013. Web. 06 May 2015.

http://www.peruthisweek.com/news-peruvian-cocoa-wins-award-in-paris-france-101362

“Cusco Peru Chocolate & Coffee Plantation Tour” by the Luxury Peru Travel Company

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYcN6KQdCn4

“First Taste of Chocolate in Ivory Coast” by VPRO Metropolis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEN4hcZutO0

Hall, Terra. “The World’s Rarest Chocolate Discovered in Peru.” Features. Peru This Week: Living in Peru, 23 Aug. 2013. Web. 06 May 2015.

http://www.peruthisweek.com/food-the-worlds-rarest-chocolate-discovered-in-peru-100726

Shankman, Samantha. “Anthony Bourdain’s “Parts Unknown” Episode 7 Recap: Chocolate in Peru.” Digital. Skift, 03 June 2013. Web. 06 May 2015.

http://skift.com/2013/06/03/anthony-bourdains-parts-unknown-episode-7-recap-peruvian-chocolate/

“World Chocolate Masters Competition” by Janet Rudolph

http://dyingforchocolate.blogspot.com/2009/10/world-chocolate-masters-competition.html

 

Works Cited:

Farrer, A. Muriel. “The Swiss Chocolate Industry.” The Economic Journal (1908): 110-114.

Hodgson, Robert T. “An analysis of the concordance among 13 US wine competitions.” Journal of Wine Economics 4.01 (2009): 1-9.

Hodgson, Robert T. “An examination of judge reliability at a major US wine competition.” Journal of Wine Economics 3.02 (2008): 105-113.

Leissle, Kristy. “Invisible West Africa: The Politics of Single Origin Chocolate.” Gastronomica: The Journal of Food and Culture 13.3 (2013): 22-31.

Norton, Marcy. “Conquests of Chocolate.” oah Magazine of History 18.3 (2004): 14-17.

Terrio, Susan J., J. L. Watson, and M. L. Caldwell. “Crafting grand cru chocolates in contemporary France.” The cultural politics of food and eating: A reader (2005): 144-162.

Catcalling a Three Musketeers Bar: Perpetuating Gender Stereotypes by Traversing Sociohistorical Lines and a Literary Inclusive Response

Figure 1. Three Musketeers Catwalk Commercial.

Many of today’s advertising focuses on viewership while sacrificing the unfair portrayal of race and gender, perpetuating longstanding sociohistorical stereotypes. In the Three Musketeers “Catwalk” commercial, a man is catcalled by several businesswomen who we eventually find are actually interested in the Three Musketeers bar in his hand. After a fight over the chocolate bar, the winner is rewarded and we find that the man only returns to the commercial in the end when he is frightened by another woman. In particular, there are two elements that I analyze in this essay: first, the over sexualized portrayal and behavioral patterns of the women in relation to a reciprocal relationship with men’s behavioral habits – making it ok to be disrespectful toward women; second, the elevation of the chocolate bar and disparate emotional outcomes of the three women following the competition for bar compared to more inclusive advertisements. Finally, we propose utilize two strategies to explain and present our response advertisements to help remedy these messaging obstacles.

First, there is a unique gender role portrayal which places women at the forefront of this image lusting after either men and / or chocolate. Surprisingly, where men would be typical culprits of committing catcalling, in this alternate reality, which we are first hinted at when a woman with a stroller gives a suggestive “hey” to the man walking. The scene builds up with three women having aggressive catcalls at the man and it is only when we see the chocolate bar that we understand the women aren’t actually after the man. Through the commercial, Three Musketeers implies that gender reversal occurs because women lust after chocolate, having an insatiable appetite of untamed passion compelling them to act the same way that men would when picking up women. Not only is this damaging to the perception of women but also enforces the stereotype of aggressive and disrespectful male catcalling behavior. This disturbing, now common marketing technique portrays women within a hypersexualized context who crave for chocolate to the degree that they are unable to control their temptations (Stevens & Brown 2003).

 

Second, the elevation of the chocolate bar and emotional disparity between the three women in the original Three Musketeers commercial emphasizes the exclusivity of the product as certain people are left out of the experience. We can clearly see that the two women on either side who do not obtain chocolate show frustrated and disappointed facial emotions. Not only is this ineffective marketing, generating negative emotions of exclusivity, but it also makes the product feel like it is elevated, as we see the chocolate bar floating higher above everyone’s heads. The literal meaning of the elevation, as we learn in the ending message of “A Lighter Way to Enjoy Chocolate” is that the Three Musketeer’s bar is healthier. However, when analyzed in a second level, the fact that the chocolate elevates itself, makes it seem to have been placed on a pedestal that not everyone can reach. Alienating consumers in this way is not an effective marketing strategy and one that is more inclusive, showing positive emotions can be far more effective, as seen in the following Hershey’s commercial from the early 1970’s. Not only are there enough chocolate bars for everyone to enjoy, there are children of every race and gender as well as a clear emphasis on sharing and positive facial expressions – a far better way to generate goodwill with the audience and heartwarming pull to purchase chocolate.

Figure 2. Hershey’s Advertisement from the 1970’s.

We offer a new alternative to tackle these two issues through our advertisement, “All for One”; In this advertisement, we portray people of all ages, races, and genders all similarly interested in obtaining a Three Musketeers bar that is above their heads. While elevation is still present, we use it figuratively, denoted by the fact that the bar is not scaled to size, to show that everyone is highly interested and able to obtain such a prize if they desire it. This is underscored by the universally positive emotions on each person’s face and we hope to capture the inclusivity of chocolate with the hope for everyone to share the spoils of a sweet chocolate bar.

Figure 3. Our Response Advertisement: “All for One and One for All”.

In particular, there are two strategies we have consciously utilized to construct the response advertisement which emphasizes a more inclusive environment with less stereotypical messaging: Association and Bandwagoning. First, our “Association” strategy involves tying our product with a famous literary reference and slogan; we chose “All for one and one for all” from the actual book portray a dual theme (Kazemi & Esmaeili 2010). Breaking down this quote, we capture the desirability of Three Musketeers chocolate in the first half, and also the affordability and ease of obtaining with the second half. Second, we propose also propose the use of the “Bandwagon” technique, another common advertising strategy used to convince customers that everyone is similarly interested in the product and able to join in on the experience. For instance, the Pepsi advertisement below show children of all ages and genders enjoying bottles of Pepsi while dancing together to music. These two strategies help to eliminate gendered or classed messaging from the original three musketeers advertisement and push toward a more inclusive advertisement that will speak to all a more universal audience, arguably with more efficacy .

Figure 4. Pepsi Bandwagon Advertisement.

Ultimately, the advent of viral advertising has spawned several variations of sexualized and oft controversial themes aimed at generating views at the sacrifice of social progress. We aim to solve some of these issues with our response ad to create a more inclusive and diverse message while retaining the desirability and allure of chocolate.

 

Multimedia sources:

(1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtMLIp2w3kU&feature=youtu.be

Figure 1. Three Musketeers Catwalk Commercial.

 

(2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdc7gFEHaRE

Figure 2. Hershey’s Advertisement from the 1970’s.

 

(3) Created Response Advertisement: Idea generation as a group with stock images from Google

 

(4) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po0jY4WvCIc

Figure 4. Pepsi Bandwagon Advertisement.

 

Works Cited:

Kazemi, F., & Esmaeili, M. (2010). The Role of Media on Consumer Brand Choice A Case Study of Chocolate Industry. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(9), p147.

Stevens, L., Maclaran, P., & Brown, S. (2003). ” Red Time Is Me Time” Advertising, Ambivalence, and Women’s Magazines. Journal of Advertising,32(1), 35-45.

 

Gifting and Growing: Cultural Adaptations driving the Expansion of Chocolate in China

The development of the Chinese chocolate market was heavily influenced by the cultures and customs of the region. Indeed, the clash of American chocolate giants scrambling to gain market share led to a number of conflicts between western values associated with chocolate and adapting to a new culture and consumer. In particular, the two cultural differences of customary gifting and Chinese dietary habits slowed the acceptance of chocolate in China, while the marketing of family values and nutrition, a semblance of chocolate’s past in Europe, were refreshed successfully for the Chinese market.

As the demand for cacao increased, more European countries such as France, United Kingdom and Holland started cultivating cacao in their colonies in the Caribbean, Ivory Coast of Africa and a few parts of South East Asia (Simmons, 1976; Baker, 1891). This aided in the distribution of chocolate to all parts of the world and eventually companies began their first expansions into China. Because chocolate was a very foreign good for the Asian consumer, companies such as Cadbury and Mars often experienced headwinds to their business strategy. In particular, the Chinese placed a high emphasis on branding of objects and gifting friends and family luxury goods around holidays and special occasions. Only when chocolate, a western good, was adapted to fit this use did it actually attract high amounts of attention and a significant uptick in consumption in China. A particularly apparent example of this phenomenon is shown in Figure 1 below where a Dove chocolate advertisement illustrates a combination of their silky smooth chocolate next to an animated, red Chinese character representing the Spring festival. Another aspect of Chinese gifting culture was that the Chinese are “very fond of items that are not accessible in China,” perhaps in part due to the history of the closed-door policy (Thompson 2007). Chinese consumers were eager to provide a “western” gift to their friends and families, chocolate was popularly accepted. While embracing the cultural customs of gifting in China represented a first headwind of chocolate giant’s foray into China, another aspect which posed challenges was the use of milk in Chocolate.

Figure 1: Website advertisement for Dove chocolate regarding Spring Festival Chocolates

Yet, one area of development which these large chocolate companies faced was how to cope with the major difference in dietary consumption of milk in China. During the early expansion of large American chocolate companies into China in the 1990’s, the two major producers, Dove and Cadbury launched differing advertisement campaigns to capture the imagination of the Chinese. Because Dove had already been selling chocolate bars three years before Cadbury, they had a head start in marketing spending and emphasized the slogan “Silky smooth taste” which linked it effectively to the brand of self-indulgence that was growing among core Chinese consumers of chocolate (Allen 2009). However, Cadbury took an approach emphasizing that a cup of milk was present in each pound of chocolate. This marketing push was ineffective, exemplifying how an misunderstanding of Chinese core diet led to many problems. According to Allen (2009), the Chinese “were not frequent consumers of milk, making it difficult to visualize just how much milk was contained in a glass; was it a lot or a little?” Only when Chinese consumers began accepting other elements of the western diet including rapid uptake in milk consumption starting in the 2000’s did this approach start to work. In Video 1 below, a commercial for Kinder Chocolate illustrates the nutritional importance of two key western dietary elements that has been accepted in China: milk and whole grains. Toward the end of the commercial, we see a compelling clip of milk as well as whole grains illustrating the nutritional value for children as they are growing. These elements represent the eventual acceptance of western elements in the Chinese diet, and the shift away just a diet of rice.

Video 1: The focus on ingredients in this advertisement are representative of the shift in consumption attitudes toward milk

Ultimately, chocolate companies in China did find common ground between American and Chinese consumers by using media focused on family life and nutrition. These elements are actually reminiscent of the first popular use of chocolate marketing in Britain during the industrialization of chocolate making. While advertisements during the time emphasized the nutritional value of chocolate for women and children as a substitute for meat, the Chinese marketing campaigns, which lead to the acceptance of chocolate into the diet, emphasize the importance of certain nutritional elements such as calcium, vitamins, and carbohydrates for children as they continued to grow and develop. With the advent of the open-door policy in China and in a show of the strength of filial bonds, Asian parents were keen on providing their children with adequate nutrition so that they would be both healthy and strong throughout their development. This was often achieved through learning from the West and adapting practices such as drinking milk, eating whole grains and in this case, eating more chocolate as well. As seen in the video advertisement below for Kinder Chocolate, a clear emphasis was placed on the family elements with father, mother, son and daughter appearing in multiple shots. Furthermore, a sequence of animations shows how much nutritious milk is contained inside the chocolate bars connecting that with a healthy active lifestyle outside. Finding a soft-spot for the Chinese consumer led to rapid adoption of Chocolate perhaps as not just a gifting good, but also a vital highly nutritious staple for children.

Video 2: Showing family values used in video advertisement from Kinder Chocolate

Due to cultural differences in diet and gifting practices partially due to the imperial period of China, Chocolate companies experienced a great deal of adversity breaking into the arena from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Eventual adaptations catering to Chinese gifting practices, consumption of milk, and portrayal of family and nutritional elements in media, all spurred the more robust adoption of chocolate.

Multimedia Sources:

Figure 1: http://media.smashingmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/image-dove.jpg

Video 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3nYEtKhiHc

Video 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9vetRI_XbE

Thompson (2007): http://www.jazzviolin.com/china/2007/10/05/china-gifts-chinese-gift-etiquette-gift-ideas-in-china-gift-giving-in-china-gift-taboos/

Works Cited:

Allen, Lawrence. (2009) Chocolate Fortunes, Chapter 3: Cadbury, One Bilion Consumers, New York. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.

Foster, Nelson, and Linda S. Cordell, eds. Chilies to chocolate: food the Americas gave the world.   University of Arizona Press, 1992.

Simmons, J. (1976) Cocoa Production: Economic and Botanical perspectives, New York, Praeger    Publishers, Inc.

Walter Baker & Company. (1891). The chocolate-plant: (Theobroma cacao) and its products. Dorchester, Mass.: W. Baker and Company.

 

Pochteca: The Traveling Merchant’s Role in Adoption of Cacao as Currency

Many Mesoamerican civilizations used cacao beans as a unit of currency for trade. While the fundamental nature of beans as a small, mobile, and countable good undoubtedly had an impact on its adoption as a unit of currency, the pochteca, or traveling merchants, were also instrumental in spurring the cacao bean’s adoption by emphasizing the inherent and associated value of this resource. By way of background, the pochteca were specialized travelers whose task was “to mount expeditions…to distant ‘ports of trade’ in the lowlands” (Coe and Coe 73). I argue that the Pochteca impacted the adoption of cacao beans as key economic currency for two reasons. First, the acknowledgement of the Pochteca’s high social class within Mesoamerican society enforced the idea of stratification of goods in where chocolate was seen as a luxury good with inherent measurable value. Second, the pochteca often also acted as commercial or military spies, ingratiating themselves with the ruling class, which would be more likely to use cacao beans for trade and governing affairs. Finally, the dangerous journey to retrieve cacao beans also enforced the idea of scarcity, thus increasing demand.

First, the pochteca were seen in the social stratification at a high status, which by association elevated Cacao to a luxury good with inherent social status. Coe and Coe (2013) states that the Pochteca occupied a high status within society just below the noble class, partially because they provided the noble class with the materials to display wealth. The pochteca would mount expeditions to the lowlands to collect cacao beans and the Spaniards even noticed that “cacao ranked with gold and gems in records of solemn offerings to the dead, and they gathered that its use was restricted to certain prestigious classes” (Presilla 17). The purpose of pochtecas was inextricably linked to the good they carried; thus, cacao could be seen as a distinguishing factor of social status . Indeed, this social hierarchy was also evident in the ways in which a pochteca could promote themselves: “an aspiring merchant…was obliged to host a large and expensive banquet for his fellow merchants at each rung of the ladder” (Coe and Coe 98). This social stratification, which placed the pochteca very close to the top, influenced the perception of cacao beans as a valuable luxury good with inherent value and was linked closely to social capital.

Second, the pochteca often doubled as commercial or military spies between regions; this meant that the governing elite highly valued the services of pochteca. The intimate connection between the two allowed for an easier adoption by the governing class to use cacao beans as a currency for trade and other affairs. Under the Triple Alliance, the three towns of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan ruled for a period in the mid-1400’s that lasted for a 100 years. Formally trained spies (often pochteca due to their travel knowledge) during this period collected military intelligence; Florentine Codex Book 9 shown below illustrates the pochteca disguised in nontraditional garb.

Figure 1. Disguised Pochteca at Tzinacantlan from Florentine Codex Book 9.

Consequently, pochteca they often perceived negatively and punished if captured. For example, we see this negative connoted in the Mixtec Codex, where the pochteca are portrayed with mice near their feet. Mice carried negative connotations as they were compared to incessant “eavesdroppers” and in the second picture from the Codex Mendoz Folio 66r, the fate of spies that were captured in enemy territory. Thus, the value cacao beans were also enhanced by the inherent dangers of a pochteca’s job.

Figure 2. Traveling pochteca with rodent near staff.

Figure 3. Fate of pochteca spies if caught in enemy territory.

          Finally, the pochteca opened up a network of townships and governing regions where tributes needed to be collected, thus requiring a standardized currency. As noted from the International Cocoa Organization (2011), cacao beans were also used as a currency and as a tribute or tax from peoples ruled by Aztecs. For example, this facsimile from the Codex Mendoza (1541) shows the tribute that Aztecs extracted twice a year from the cacao-growing region of Soconusco in southern Mexico. Having a unit of trade that could be easily calculated was very useful between the lowlands and central cities.

 Figure 4. Sample of tribute collected from the lowlands.

Cacao was also used in a variety of ceremonies across Mesoamerica, making it a necessary unit of value for events. “Cacao beans were given to priest’s assistants at children’s coming of age ceremonies. During marriage ceremonies, the couple drank a symbolic cup of chocolate and exchanged cacao beans” (ICO 2011). The widespread geographic adoption of cacao beans, spurred by the pochteca and the transfer of knowledge across the region resulted in the demand and common use of cacao beans.

 Figure 5. Chocolate used in offerings to the Sun god in Codex Laud.  

Figure 6. Chocolate offering in marriage ceremony from Codex Zouche-Nuttall. 

          Ultimately, the use of cacao beans as currency greatly complimented the economies of Mesoamerican civilizations by providing a standard unit of currency to facilitate trade. The pochteca undoubtedly played an important role in reinforcing the sociological connections between cacao and its value due to both the pochteca’s high social status as well as their military uses by the governing elite. It is interesting to hear that the Spanish themselves utilized “cacao currency” for a rather long time. As late as 1750, the “Spanish viceroy…enacted regulations for general stores requiring them to accept both small coins and cacao beans as change” (Presilla 18).

Works Cited:

Coe, Sophie D., and Michael D. Coe. The True History of Chocolate. London: Thames and Hudson, 1996. Print.

Presilla, Maricel. The New Taste of Chocolate: A Cultural and Natural History of Cacao with Recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed, 2001. Print.

Multimedia Sources:

“When Money Grew on Trees.” Chocolate Food of the Gods. Cornell University, 1 Jan. 2007. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://exhibits.mannlib.cornell.edu/chocolate/moneygrewontrees.php&gt;.

“How Much Energy Can You Get From One Cacao Bean?” Ask the Experts. Mexicolore, 1 Nov. 2006. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/ask-experts/how-much-energy-can-you-get-from-one-cocoa-bean&gt;.

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