A Spanish explorer named Hernan Cortes may have been the first
"outsider" to find out about chocolate. Cortes visited Mexico in 1519.
He soon discovered that the Aztec Indians living there valued some
beans almost as much as they did gold. The beans were from a tree the
Aztecs called kakahuatl (ka-ka-hoo-AH-tul).
Cortes and his soldiers ate many meals with rich and powerful Aztecs. He reported that these people drank amazing amounts of something they called chocolatl (show-co-LAH-tul). This watery, bitter drink was made from those mysterious beans.
The name chocolatl may have come from the way the drink was prepared. First, kakahuatl beans were crushed and mixed with vanilla, ground corn, and chili peppers to make a thick paste. Then water (which the Aztecs called latl) was added. This made a choco, choco, choco sound.
Moctezuma, the Aztec king, was said to have drunk 50 golden goblets of the drink every day (drawing at left). Moctezuma's palace staff also had the chocolatl habit. Every day they drank 2000 pitchers of it!
Cortes figured that if an Aztec king liked chocolatl, a Spanish king would too. So he brought some beans to Europe as one of the fabulous treasures from America.
The Spanish royalty called their new drink chocolate
(cho-co-LAH-tay). They sweetened it with sugar or honey and flavored it with cinnamon. But since the Spanish couldn't get enough beans for themselves, they didn't want to share them with anyone. They kept their secret so well that, for many years, very few people in Europe knew about chocolate.
To read the complete article, go to:
LookSmart's FindArticles - Chocolate! - history of chocolate, how it is made, and the different forms in which it is eaten - includes a quiz on chocolate trivia
Ranger Rick, Feb, 1996
To learn more about Palapa Azul's Mexican Chocolate Ice Cream, go to:
When are your products going to show in this part of the world ( Whittier )
Posted by: John Trujillo | November 04, 2007 at 07:12 PM