History Of Chocolate

It has been suggested that the Spaniards coined the word using the Maya word chocol and replacing the Maya term for water which was haa with the Aztec word atl, therefore the word chocolate. It is more likely the term was created by the Aztecs who had used the familiar Mayan word for the "cacao" bean. The first reports of chocolate to the known world were when Cortes reported the drink known as xocolatl to the Spanish King.

An ancient Mayan pot found with chocolate residue indicates the Mayans drank chocolate 2,600 years ago. This is the earliest record of the use of cacao. The goddess of fertility, Xochiquetzal, was associated with chocolate by the Aztecs. The Aztecs drank a spicy, bitter form of chocolate called xocatl that was frequently seasoned with vanilla, chili pepper and annatto.

It was thought to fight fatigue, most likely as a result of the theobromine which is similar to caffeine. Throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica chocolate was a luxury and the cacao beans were used as a form of currency. Chocolate drinks were also combined with maize starch paste (a thickener), honey and different fruits.

About two-thirds of the cocoa in the world comes from West Africa, and half of that is from the Ivory Coast. As with many food producers, cocoa farmers are controlled by the world market. Prices can vary dramatically, as much as $945.00 to $5,672.00 a ton in just a couple of years.

Cocoa farmers, unlike those who invest in trading cocoa, can't abandon their trees or reduce production as easily as investors can dump their stocks. It has been stated that 90% of cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast have resorted to slave labor when prices drop in order to remain in business.