How Did Chocolate Become Popular

Chocolate is derived from the New World cacao plant. Since the discovery of the New World, the popularity of chocolate has substantially grown. However, the history of chocolate and its consumption go back much further to about four thousand years ago. The forms chocolate has been found in has more recently greatly varied but it has always played an important role to tribes and complex societies. From a ritual product to more every day use, chocolate has greatly also had an impact on the development of the New World in the eyes of European explorers.

Early History

The earliest evidence of the use of the cacao plant for chocolate derive from the Olmec cultures that populated southern Mexico. While no direct evidence exists, such as written records, trace chemicals that include theobromine indicate that some ceramic vessels were used in the preparation or direct consumption of chocolate-derived products. Most likely, this early chocolate was roasted and fermented, where cacao seeds would have been first pulverized and grounded. In fact, for much of chocolate's history, it has been drunk rather than consumed as a solid and often it was an alcoholic beverage.

The Maya are the first to document the consumption and use of chocolate. Like the Olmecs, the also document that chocolate was consumed as a drink rather than eaten. In fact, Mayan depictions indicate a ritual style consumption and this is suggested by Mayan writings. The Aztecs from central Mexico also used cacao and chocolate, where it also became a religiously important drink that had its own association with the god Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent deity who protected and held the knowledge of chocolate. The Aztecs drank chocolate cold, suggesting some differences from the Maya who liked it mostly as a warm fermented drink. Cacao beans seem to have also been used as a type of currency, traded to purchase other objects as needed.

The arrival of Spanish conquistadors, specifically Hernando Cortés, brought Europeans in contact with chocolate, who initially did not like the taste of the drink as it was bitter. Chocolate, at this time, did not include sugar so it was usually quite bitter. By the 1590s, chocolate was now mixed with honey, vanilla, and sugar, giving it a much sweeter taste and it became more favorable With the conquest of the West Indies, and beginning of the establishment of sugarcane plantations, soon the production of sugar combined with chocolate revolutionized European tastes. Soon, chocolate, still consumed as a drink, became associated with upper class tastes and the nobility in general by the early 17th century. Interestingly, the some members of the church had initially potentially considered chocolate drinks as sinful, where some even drank it to divert themselves from long services. However, this changed as the elite and noblemen supported its consumption. The 17th century was also a time for experimentation with chocolate, including the first known attempt to coat almonds with chocolate.