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Sweet story / How was the first chocolate in the world created?

Sweet story / How was the first chocolate in the world created?

Today you can not imagine a world without chocolates, but here it has not always existed. Once upon a time people could not get better by renting it with chocolate. Until the 16th century, most of the world had no idea about chocolate. The Maya and Aztec civilizations were the ones who knew something more than the rest.

South America is the place where cocoa was first discovered by humans about 5,300 years ago. This is how the story begins.

Historians believe that the Maya and Aztecs also used chocolate extensively in their religious rituals and various important ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, or births.

How did the Ancient Aztecs drink cocoa? It had nothing to do with the sweet drink we have today. They ground cocoa beans and mixed them with chili peppers to create an energy drink, far removed from the relaxation we drink today that warms us on cold days. They believed that cocoa was divine and was given to people by the gods. Both the Maya and Aztec tribes believed it was a gift from Quetzalcoatl (or Kukulkan) from which it got its name.

The ancient Aztecs, as well as the people of pre-modern Latin America, valued cocoa and its grains so much that they used it as a currency for centuries. According to some Aztec documents, in the 16th century one could buy a large turkey for more than 100 grains of cocoa, a rabbit for 30 grains, an avocado or an egg for 3 grains. Cocoa beans could also be used to pay taxes.

So much for America.

And Europe became acquainted with chocolate thanks to Hernan Cortes. Rumor has it that when Hernando Cortez arrived at Tenochtitlan in 1519, King Montezuma greeted him with numerous jars of hot cocoa drink in gold cups. The colonists later brought the cocoa bean to Spain, where it quickly became popular. At this time they started adding a little honey and vanilla for a sweeter taste.

Në shekullin e 17-të kakaoja ishte tashmë mjaft e popullore, saqë të gjithë aristokratët dhe njerëzit e pasur e konsumonin atë çdo ditë. Përveç që është e shijshme dhe shumë ushqyese, gjithashtu ka reputacionin e një afrodiziaku të fortë - madje u përfol se Casanova ishte shumë i dhënë pas kakaos.

Kakao Holandeze

1828 is the most important year in the history of chocolate production as it was the year when Coenraad Johannes van Houten found a way to solidify this cocoa. Thus, cocoa powder was created under the name 'Dutch Cocoa'. It was used to create a delicious cocoa drink or a bar of chocolate more or less like the ones we have today. Daniel Peter, a Swiss, was the first to add powdered milk to the mix and created this super milk chocolate we eat today. Nestle then began the extensive production and marketing of milk chocolate.