Chocolate is endemic to the tropical rainforests of South America, specifically Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
There is debate whether it grew simultaneously in Mesoamerica (present-day Mexico and Central America), but the more solid paleobotanical and phytogenetic research traces its origins to the Amazon basin.
The Amazon Now Present
In fact, the local indigenous communities of the Amazon rainforest have cultivated it for over 3,000 years. In Peru, the Incas, and even their predecessors, cultivated cacao and turned it into a brew.
The beverage was considered medicinal and was often used in rituals.
Later, it was transported to Mexico and from then on, cultivated for thousands of years.
In Mesoamerica, it was fundamental to Maya and Aztec cultures, who believed cacao was a gift from the gods. Specifically, from a feathered serpent god known as Kukulkán by the Maya and Quetzalcóatl by the Aztecs.
The Name of Chocolate
It was in Mexico where it received the name chocolate, from the Aztec word xocoatl, which is a mix of xococ or sour, and atl or drink.
The bean was turned into a bitter-flavored beverage used in rituals and celebrations. Additionally, the Aztecs used it as currency.
Thus, the beans traveled from Mexico to Spain, where they were initially used as medicine. Later, they were combined with honey, sugar, vanilla, and/or spices.
This sweet beverage became a delicacy enjoyed in all aristocratic households of the country. From there, it spread throughout Europe.
Due to increasing demand, production grew, and plantations developed in Africa. With the invention of the cacao press by Coenraad van Houten of Amsterdam in the 1820s, chocolate gradually became the global sensation it is today — widely available in bars, powders, truffles, syrups, ice creams, cakes... whatever you want.
