Aztec Chocolate: More Than Just A Cocoa Bean
In the Aztec language Nahuatl “cacao” refers to the cocoa bean. The botanical name Theobroma cacao literally means food for the gods. In Aztec Society, which encompassed most of Mesoamerica after the arrival of the Spaniards (1376 AD ) cacao was seen as a valuable commodity. Aztec Chocolate; the cacao bean was used as both a major currency and a form of payment. When they conquered a tribe they would demand payment of cocoa beans from the tribe. This was an imposition on all of the conquered people the Aztec overtook.
The Aztecs give credit to their god Quetzalcoatl as the creator of the cocoa plant. It was believed that he descended from heaven on the beam of a morning star caring a cocoa tree from paradise. In ancient Aztec culture the cocoa bean was the basis for a thick cold unsweetened drink called xocoatl. It was believed to be a health elixir that was nourishing and fortifying. They believed that wisdom and power came from eating the fruit of the cocoa tree not to mention aphrodisiac qualities. Since the Aztecs knew nothing about sugar, their Aztec Chocolate Drink was seasoned with things like chili peppers and corn meal.
In the Aztec markets government officials would regulate the selling of both Aztec chocolate and cocoa beans. They would make sure that weight; prices and measurements of the goods would match its quality. In the Florentine Codex by Fray Bernardino de Sahagún written he reports that at the Aztec Market that there was a woman who prepared her chocolate drink meticulously. Her drink was that of the nobles composed of Aztec cacao, infused with chili water, flowers, vanilla and honey. To this drink she created a foaming head. He also writes that the honest cocoa vendors would make piles of beans according to their origin while the dishonest vendors would sell counterfeit beans. The dishonest vendors would do things like color inferior lots of cacao beans artificially, disguise amaranth dough or avocado seeds with cacao husks to fool the customers.
Unable to grow cocoa in the Aztec capital Aztec Emperors incorporated the costal cocoa producing areas and lowlands into their vassal territories demanding tribute be given in the form of cocoa beans. Aztec Emperor Montezuma greeted Cortes in 1519 and his army with some good old Aztec Chocolate in the form of his favorite drink. Chocolatl as the drink was called was made from cacao beans that was ground into a paste; mixed with spices vanilla and a small amount of honey. Montezuma would drink his dyed red. It was served in solid gold goblets that were thrown away after one use. Montezuma consumed at least 50 of these goblets of Aztec chocolate daily. In 1528 When Cortes returned to Spain from “the new world” he took with him the Aztec Chocolate. Due to the powerful reputation of the drink the beans were sequestered to monasteries. The Aztec Chocolate drink recipe was kept a secret and only enjoyed by the wealthiest nobility. Here is a recipe I came across that has the feel of ancient Aztec chocolate. Ingredients:
1 ounce unsweetened baking chocolate
1-teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup boiling water
ground pepper of chilies to taste Directions:
Aztec Chocolate: Grate the unsweetened chocolate into a bowl and cover it with a little of the boiling water. Mash the mixture into a paste. Add the rest of the water and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until frothy. Add the pepper and chilies to liven up the drink. The chocolate will not totally dissolve and will have grittiness to it. For a more authentic drink let the mixture cool and then beat until frothy and drink.
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