Chocolate – A drink of the gods
Only about 150 years ago, chocolate became a modern look. Before those 3000 years it only existed in the form of a drink. Everyone knows that the pioneers of chocolate were the Indian tribes of the Mayans and Aztecs. The priests in the churches prayed and sacrificed to their powerful patron, the god of cocoa. In the Aztec language, the drink, which is prepared from cocoa beans, is called “cacahuatle”, and the Mayans called it “xocolatl”, which translated means “foamy water”.
The recipe was simple: cocoa beans, ground into a powder and mixed with cold water. The cocoa beans themselves are very bitter, so you can assume that they represent the flavor of the “drink of the gods”. However, for the nobility drink prepared by the most complicated recipes, including spices – vanilla, cinnamon and even chili peppers. And the absolutely unique method of cooking there for the Aztec ruler Moctezuma: roasted cocoa beans were ground together with corn milk grains, honey and the boiled sweet juice of agave were added to reduce bitterness. So all this with vanilla flavor. Apparently, at that time the exciting properties of cocoa were already known, as Moctezuma drank a cup of medicinal drink, before entering his extensive harem.
In 1517 the Spanish Cortes arrived in America. The bitter taste of the strange dark liquid delighted the conquerors, but nevertheless they paid tribute to its specific aroma and appreciated the tonic effect. Without thinking twice, they named a drink “Theobroma cacao”, which means “food of the gods” and brought their discovery to Europe. Cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar began to be added to chocolate, and now it is drunk hot. These changes were to the benefit of chocolate, and it soon became a fashionable drink of the Spanish aristocracy. The Spanish kept the chocolate recipe strictly secret, but it did not last long – in the 17th century chocolate is famous throughout Europe.
The high clergy will not remain indifferent to the exotic drink. Most of the Catholic Church was concerned, can I eat chocolate during Lent? The bishops concluded that dealing with this in a state of only the Pope himself. Having tasted this strange, dark and bitter drink, Pope Pius V expressed the following: “Chocolate does not violate the post. You can’t bring this crap to someone funny!”. Because cocoa was officially allowed to use.
Strong, dark chocolate has long been considered an exclusively male drink. Then various spices were added to the cocoa: vanilla, nutmeg, cloves, anise, almonds and even rose water. Milk originally occurred to the English to prepare a drink, and they added it to a glass of madeira and raw eggs. In England, the famous chocolate houses became so popular that they even outshone the tea and coffee shops.
People have long seen hot chocolate’s amazing ability to improve mood and increase vitality. And when it came to the attention of scientists, they discovered that the biologically active substances in cocoa cause the human brain to produce a cascade of hormones that bring pleasure and reduce any pain.