Chocolate Funk - Chocolate

Chocolate

Chocolate in Mesoamerica

Cacao, the plant from which chocolate is derived, was discovered about 2000 years ago in the tropical rainforests of Mesoamerica. The first people clearly known to have used it were the ancient cultures of that area who mixed it with chile peppers, corn meal, and other spices to create a bitter, frothy beverage.

The early significance of chocolate

Mayans of the classical period (250-900 CE) were among the first to employ the chocolate beverage for various ceremonial purposes. But, by 1400 the Aztecs came to dominate the area and through their trade networks, began to use the seeds themselves. It was so highly valued as to be used almost as a currency. Both of these cultures used the drink primarily for religious and royal ceremonies. Their priests offered the seeds to the gods and served the beverage during religious ceremonies. At the time, chocolate was not something consumed by the masses.

Europe gets turned on to the cacao scene

The Spanish first made contact in Mesoamerica in 1521 and immediately recognized the significance of cacao seeds packing them on ships bound for the courts of the Old World. They began added their own spices and sugar to the beverage and from there demand only increased, but Spain would not share their new found pleasure with the rest of Europe for another 100 years! Eventually chocolate did catch on in the rest of Europe, but was such an expensive import that it would remain an elite beverage and status symbol reserved only for the upper echelons of society for the next 300 years. France went so far as making chocolate a state monopoly that could only be purchased by members of the royal court.

The legacy of chocolate's popularity also has a dark side. With the demand of chocolate increasing at such a fast pace came the establishment of many more colonial plantations producing large quantities of the seed. And since it was, by this time, mixed with sugar so too did its demand increase. The production of both cacao and sugar are very labor- intensive and required the need for ever more slaves from Africa.