How Chocolate Got Its Wings

How many of us really know the origins of chocolate as we know it? My perspective for quite a long time was that it was something meant to be savored, and not known... but when I found out that chocolate was "discovered" in the New World by Spanish explorers in the early sixteenth century, my interest was piqued.

Chocolate was first introduced to the conquistadors by the Aztecs in beverage form. As their own wine supplies began to diminish, the highly spiced, gritty drink (made from roasted and crushed cocoa beans and spices) began to grow on them. Once they were clued into its invigorating, restorative effects -- and after adding a bit of cane sugar as sweetener -- this drink made of the "brown gold" slowly became a part of their daily lives.

So the next time I have a spiced hot cocoa at my local chocolate bar, I'll just shrug off the thought of consuming more than a day's worth of calories in a single shot. Instead, I'll raise my glass (or paper cup, or mug) in a toast to the ancient Aztecs, whose original discovery of the cocoa bean has gone on to delight trillions of people for centuries, and for many more to come.

For more interesting factoids in a highly digestible form, pick up a charming little read called The Little Book of Chocolate by Katherine Kodorowsky and Herve Robert (Flammarion, 2001).