The Sacred, Ancient History of Chocolate

The tremendous amount of importance the Mayas placed on chocolate would be considered silly today, but we are able to see how inscriptions of rituals and ideas that involved chocolate portrayed the true and intense historical importance of chocolate as pictured and explained, “Maya gods shedding blood over cacao, from the Madrid Codex. According to the hieroglyphic text, specific members of incense lumps and cacao beans are offered” (Coe and Coe 43).

Today, chocolate is widely known as a nice treat to eat, and a delicious beverage. The focus of this essay is on chocolate beverages. The many different modern recipes we know today of how to make and drink chocolate are important to us, because they yield delicious beverages. Usually, no second thought is given as to why we have been able to enjoy such recipes during modern times. The tradition of enjoying chocolate had to have begun somewhere and sometime ago to be able to have carried on into today. As is apparent by the photo and caption above, ancient Mesoamericans (in the case of the photo, the Mayas) greatly adored chocolate. In fact, the ancient Aztec, Mixtec, and Olmec peoples also had opportunities to enjoy chocolate during chocolate’s early history. Perhaps, the meaning behind the term, “food of the gods,” referring to chocolate, was taken more seriously in ancient times, allowing for progression of the custom (qtd by C. Martin “Mesoamerica”). By analyzing the historical accounts of ancient chocolate recipes and their social importance, we can see that the chocolate we know today has important underlying history.

Simply carrying on the tactful, thousands-of-years-old practice of experimenting with chocolate recipes that people often do today has historical importance.

As we can see in the picture of this Spanish inscribed, nineteenth century dated notebook, variations of chocolate recipes can occur through inter-cultural contact. In the case of the picture here, the “xocolat familiar” recipe resulted from interaction between Spain and Mesoamerica (Presilla 42).

The discovery of chocolate is thought to be credited to the ancient Olmecs, who lived between 1200 BC and 300 BC along the southern Gulf coast of Mexico. The Olmec society evidently laid the foundation for the barely more recent Maya civilization (Presilla 9). Even though chocolate was discovered by the preexisting Olmecs, many historical traditions and customs surrounding chocolate have been developed by the succeeding Mayans, Mixtecs, and Aztecs. Some of the traditions that were developed by the ancient Mesoamerican groups are still culturally important today. Chocolate was involved in wedding rituals, death rituals, and celebrations. An important celebration in modern times, Dia de los Muertos, is a celebration that can be celebrated with chocolate beverages (C. Martin “Mesoamerica”). The variety of uses for chocolate is what really helps to portray how important chocolate really was to the ancient Mesoamericans.

In the picture, we can see ancient Mayans preparing for and planning a wedding engagement between a woman’s family and her admirer – a woman’s father was traditionally invited by her admirer to drink chocolate and discuss a marriage between the two mutually interested parties (C. Martin “Mesoamerica”).

In past and present cultures, great care is/was taken to make exceptional, authentic chocolate beverages. In modern times, many of us are used to preparing hot chocolate with a simple and quick recipe that includes a mix especially for adding to warm milk or water before being whisked or stirred together. Contrary to our well-known capitalistic version of hot chocolate, we might sometimes find people preparing recipes from scratch, as we can see in the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlAg7zIR57k

Per authentic Mesoamerican recipes, cacao beans are roasted, shelled, and ground into chocolate liquor. Most authentically, the chocolate liquor is added to warm water, usually along with regional spices. Regional flavors added to chocolate beverages include: “nuoc mam of Southeast Asia, the chili peppers (Capsicum species) of Mexico, West Africa, and parts of India and China, the sofrito of the Hispanic Americans, and so on” (Mintz 11). The care taken to prepare chocolate maintained its popularity, and allowed for continual use in modern times. Depending on the authentic recipe, there are certain ways to ensure that the chocolate drink is enjoyed with foam. For example, a molinillo could be used, or another way to create foam would be to continuously pour the chocolate between containers until foam forms (Cartwright). The “foam” tradition is seemingly unknowingly continued today with the use of marshmallows and whipped cream!

We can see in the picture an authentic molinillo that was used for creating foam in ancient Mesoamerica. The molinillo is still a quite useful tool for making foam in an authentic xocolatl recipe (C. Martin “Chocolate Expansion”).

As it is apparent, there are many ways in which the chocolate we know today has important history behind it. Of course, the original chocolate recipes have all been subject to variation throughout time. What is most important for someone who aspires to learn and appreciate chocolate is to understand its history, and appreciate the reasons behind the uses of such a delicacy. And the next time we decide to consume a chocolate beverage, we will have a better understanding of its historical origin in more technical terms than just thinking that, “such and such company processed this chocolate and distributed it in pouches before I bought it.” Perhaps, our better understanding of chocolate history will allow us to appreciate the chocolate beverages more than we previously have appreciated them.

Works Cited

Cartwright, Mark. “Chocolate.” Ancient History Encyclopedia. Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike, 27 June 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2017. <http://www.ancient.eu/Chocolate/&gt;.

Coe, Sophie D. and Michael D. Coe. The True History of Chocolate. Third Edition. Thames &Hudson Ltd: London, 2013. Print.

Martin, Carla D. “Chocolate Expansion.’” Chocolate, Culture, and the Politics of Food. Harvard Extension School: Cambridge, MA. 8 Feb. 2017. Class Lecture.

Martin, Carla D. “Mesoamerica and the ‘Food of the Gods.’” Chocolate, Culture, and the Politics of Food. Harvard Extension School: Cambridge, MA. 1 Feb. 2017. Class Lecture.

Mintz, Sidney W. Sweetness and Power. New York: Viking Penguin, 1985. Print.

Presilla, Maricel E. The New Taste of Chocolate Revised. Ten Speed Press: Berkeley, CA, 2009 Print.

The Sunday Supper Project. “Preparing Drinking Chocolate near Oaxaca, Mexico.”YouTube.YouTube, 25 Apr. 2010. Web. 09 Mar. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlAg7zIR57k&gt;.

 

Chocolate Consumption and its Impact on Historic European Customs

The introduction of chocolate to Europe plays a significant role in the transformation of customs and beliefs that are currently associated with it. As chocolate expands into European countries, it has major implications on matters of class and politics. The development of these beliefs is best viewed through a historical narrative of chocolate’s evolving role in European society.

Until the 16^th century, drinking chocolate was an unknown custom to Europeans. Although Christopher Columbus allegedly encountered cacao beans on one of his missions to the Americas, it was Hernan Cortes who was the first European to taste chocolate (Presilla, 2009). Initially, he found the drink “more a drink for pigs, than a drink for humanity (Coe & Coe, 2013, p. 110). However, through their relations with the Aztecs, the Spanish became aware of the value of cacao beans (Presilla, 2009).

After the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs, chocolate was imported into Europe and quickly became popular among the elite. While it was still served as a beverage, the Spanish altered its taste by adding honey or sugar to reduce the bitterness (Presilla, 2009). This “Hispanicized chocolate” expanded into England, Italy and France quickly after its discovery (Presilla, 2009, p. 25).

Although the taste of the chocolate was slightly altered, Europeans continued to associate drinking chocolate with high social standing (Presilla, 2009). Drinking chocolate was still considered a luxury and was primarily consumed by the elite. This is mainly because it took a great deal of effort to produce the beverage. Furthermore, it was custom to drink chocolate from luxurious utensils, such as the Spanish mancerina and French trembleuse cups and saucers (Presilla, 2009).

These images symbolize the integration of drinking chocolate into elite customs as well as the formal nature by which chocolate was consumed. Thus, the consumption of chocolate in Europe was historically associated with matters of wealth and class that provides meaningful insight into the customs that developed as a result.

While chocolate consumption is Europe became a custom tradition among the elite class, it was also associated with political issues (Coe & Coe, 2013). This is particularly prevalent in England as the chocolate beverage became popular during a time of “political and social upheaval” (Coe & Coe, 2013, p. 161-162). There were tensions that existed between the king and parliament that were exacerbated by regular meetings that would take place at English coffee-houses. These coffee-houses hold political significance as their popularity threatened the King’s authority and he tried multiple times to have them shut down.

Along with coffee and tea, chocolate beverages were sold at these coffee-houses and all three items were highly valued among the customers. Since chocolate beverages were frequently consumed during political meetings at the coffee-houses, it became symbolic of a democratized England.

In conclusion, a historical analysis of chocolate’s consumption in Europe highlights associations with matters of class and politics. Along the way, its consumption was specified to the elite classes and held certain political affiliations, particularly in England. As a result, certain customs and beliefs became tradition among European societies that have played an integral role in shaping our current fascination with chocolate.

Works Cited

1. Coe, S., & Coe, M. (2013). Chocolate conquers Europe. In The true history of chocolate (Third ed.). New York: Thames and Hudson.

2. Presilla, M. (2009). A natural and cultural history of chocolate. In The new taste of chocolate: A cultural and natural history of cacao with recipes. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press.