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FOOD OF THE GODS

The history of chocolate begins with the Aztecs, as a beverage, known as "xocoatl". According to legend, the Aztecs believed that their god Quetzalcoatl traveled to earth on a beam of the Morning Star, bringing a cacao tree from Paradise. Quetzalcoatl taught the Aztecs to roast the seeds of this tree, and grind them into a paste, which they added, along with spices, to water, to make "chocolatl" (bitter-water). They believed that the gift of cacao seeds was a special blessing from the "God of Air", and that drinking the bitter-water gave them vast wisdom and knowledge.

Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish naturalist, tried to rename cocoa during the 1700s, calling it "theobrama", or "food of the gods" in Greek. This name, obviously, did not stick!

The first actual records of chocolate were made when Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez visited the court of the emperor of Mexico, Montezuma, in 1519. Cortez returned to the court of King Charles V with the beverage, where monks kept it a well-protected secret for nearly 100 years.

Around 1609, however, an Italian traveler, Antonio Carletti, discovered the drink, and the secret was out. By 1657, chocolate was a favorite among the wealthy and elite. It was also considered a medicinal remedy by leading physicians of the time. Even Cardinal Richelieu was known to take chocolate for his ills.

Since the introduction of the first chocolate bar around 1847, the chocolate industry has exploded, from the invention of milk chocolate, by Daniel Peter of Switzerland, in 1876, to the 1980 industrial espionage incident, when a Suchard-Tobler employee attempted to sell secret recipes around the world. Fittingly, since it purportedly came to us via a beam of the Morning Star, chocolate has, during this century, completed the circle by returning to space as part of the diet of U.S. astronauts!

And, it is still food fit for the gods!

Page last updated 1-5-99

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