The history of chocolate goes all the way back to 1492 when Columbus first presented the little cocoa beans to the Court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella along with other goods he received from the people of America. However, the King and the Queen never even dreamt of how important the dark brown beans would become and so the beans ended up in the hands of Hernando Cortez, a great Spanish explorer.
During his conquest of Mexico, Cortez found the Aztec Indians using cocoa beans - grown from their trees - as the main ingredient in the royal drink of the realm. Otherwise known as "chocolatl" which meant hot drink. In 1519, Emperor Montezuma (the emperor of the Aztec people. apparently he drank like..50 cups of chocolatl a day.. crazy old man) presented the chocolatl to the Spaniard guests, but the drink was too bitter for their taste. So to solve the problem, Cortez and his countrymen thought of the idea of sweetening the drink with cane sugar.
The chocolatl was sent to Spain and it was there that spices began to be created. And ultimately, someone decided that the drink would be better served hot. For many many years, the popular drink was kept a secret from Europe, but eventually the secret was let out and the love of "hot chocolate" started to spread rapidly throughout Europe and America. New industries began to open and well, chocolate businesses are a huge success right now! So, next time you see a bar of chocolate or a container of hot chocolate powder, don't just think: Oh! yummy! Sweet stuff! But actually think about how your all-time favourite food ended up in the shelf in the first place (: (For great recipes, go to Sixteen Beans! A cooking/baking blog by my friend, Kyleen)
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