Xocoatl - Chocolate

Many centuries before the discovery of the American continent in 1492, cacao (the cocoa bean) was cultivated in Mexico and Central America.

Cacao comes from a small tree which grows in the tropical jungles of Mexico and Central America. The indigenous peoples of Mexico were the first people to ever make chocolate, using cocoa beans, which they also used as currency for buying and selling things.

The Spaniards were the first to send cacao to Europe, along with the recipe to make it into a chocolate drink. The drink was prepared as follows: the beans were roasted and ground into a paste, which was then dissolved in water. The mixture was whipped with a whisk or passed several times from one bowl to another, then the liquid was poured out from one bowl high above another to create foam on top.

This was slightly different from the Aztec's recipe. They used to ground the roasted cocoa beans with corn and then add vanilla to the fine paste that was formed. With the paste and water they made a drink that could be drunk light or thick, warm or cold.