Education
The Olmecs occupied a small area south of Veracruz and were the first cultivators of the cacao pod. The Mayans were next, just south of present day Mexico, to elevate chocolate to status of the Gods. They named the cacao tree Cacahuaquchtl (tree) as they were concerned no other tree was worth naming.
Maya did not sweeten the cacao drink but added spices and crushed chile peppers to make a variety of drinks they prized for their foam.
Cacao played an important role in the economic , ritual and political life of the pre-Hispanic Maya.
They believed the tree belonged to the gods and that the pods growing from the tree were an offering from the gods to man. They Mayans were the originators of a bitter brew made from cacao beans. It was a luxury drink enjoyed by kings and noblemen.
The Maya believed that cacao could cure a variety of ills, including hemorrhoids and nervous tension.
The word cacao beans apparently derived from two Mayan words, ‘kaj’ and ‘kab’ which means ‘bitter’ and ‘juice’ respectively.
Their combination, ‘kajkab’ became ‘kahkah’ in Spanish.
Christopher Columbus, in 1502, reached the island of Guanaja off the coast of Honduras. As legend goes he was greeted by natives that gave him a sackful of cacao beans in exchange for some of his own merchandise.
When Cortes arrived seventeen years later the cacao beans were being used as food and served as a unit of currency and they were an important item of tribute. It was reported that a slave could be bought for one hundred cacao beans. At the time, two hundred small cacao beans were worth one Spanish real.
Cacao in Maya area can be traced back to somewhere between 600 and 400 BC, based on chemical remains from sprouted vessels from Belize.
The Mayan’s ‘cacahuatl’ was a cold beverage prepared without either sugar or milk, but the Spaniards preferred it hot and sweet and mixed with milk.
The Spanish helped develop cacao plantations in Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Jamaica and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Cacao production has since spread all over the world but the cacao from these original regions still produce the most highly prized variety of cacao bean.
- Cocoa Drinks In Europe
The first European to discover cocoa was Columbus although the Spaniard Hernand Cortes was the first person to bring the cocoa seed back to Spain in 1519, within the reign of King Phillip III. Drinking chocolate was initially very much the drink of the...
- History Of Cocoa Drinks During Ancient Times
During ancient times, as early as 1000 BC, people enjoyed chocolate in a drink. Cocoa trees were believed to have been around since between 400 B and 1500 BC in the Amazon basin, Central America. It was cultivated by the Maya, Toltec and Aztec of what...
- History Of Coffee In Africa
Studies have shown that coffee is native to the Kaffa province southwest of Ethiopia. Coffee Arabica grew here wild. And it was here that the local inhabitants began using the bean for their own, evolving purposes. The origins of coffee are shrouded...
- History Of Mangosteen
In South East Asia the fruit is known as Fruit of God because of health benefits and delicious taste of fruits. The fruit has had a long history of use dating back thousands of years. The place of origin of the mangosteen is unknown but is believed to...
- History Of Coffee Until 1600
The word of coffee is probably derived form the former Kingdom of Kaffa. Coffee originated on the plateaus of central Ethiopia. Either the Ethiopian province of Kaffa in Ethiopia’s southwestern highlands or the plateaus of central Ethiopia is likely...
Education
Early History of Cocoa
The Olmecs occupied a small area south of Veracruz and were the first cultivators of the cacao pod. The Mayans were next, just south of present day Mexico, to elevate chocolate to status of the Gods. They named the cacao tree Cacahuaquchtl (tree) as they were concerned no other tree was worth naming.
Maya did not sweeten the cacao drink but added spices and crushed chile peppers to make a variety of drinks they prized for their foam.
Cacao played an important role in the economic , ritual and political life of the pre-Hispanic Maya.
They believed the tree belonged to the gods and that the pods growing from the tree were an offering from the gods to man. They Mayans were the originators of a bitter brew made from cacao beans. It was a luxury drink enjoyed by kings and noblemen.
The Maya believed that cacao could cure a variety of ills, including hemorrhoids and nervous tension.
The word cacao beans apparently derived from two Mayan words, ‘kaj’ and ‘kab’ which means ‘bitter’ and ‘juice’ respectively.
Their combination, ‘kajkab’ became ‘kahkah’ in Spanish.
Christopher Columbus, in 1502, reached the island of Guanaja off the coast of Honduras. As legend goes he was greeted by natives that gave him a sackful of cacao beans in exchange for some of his own merchandise.
When Cortes arrived seventeen years later the cacao beans were being used as food and served as a unit of currency and they were an important item of tribute. It was reported that a slave could be bought for one hundred cacao beans. At the time, two hundred small cacao beans were worth one Spanish real.
Cacao in Maya area can be traced back to somewhere between 600 and 400 BC, based on chemical remains from sprouted vessels from Belize.
The Mayan’s ‘cacahuatl’ was a cold beverage prepared without either sugar or milk, but the Spaniards preferred it hot and sweet and mixed with milk.
The Spanish helped develop cacao plantations in Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Jamaica and Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Cacao production has since spread all over the world but the cacao from these original regions still produce the most highly prized variety of cacao bean.
Early History of Cocoa
- Cocoa Drinks In Europe
The first European to discover cocoa was Columbus although the Spaniard Hernand Cortes was the first person to bring the cocoa seed back to Spain in 1519, within the reign of King Phillip III. Drinking chocolate was initially very much the drink of the...
- History Of Cocoa Drinks During Ancient Times
During ancient times, as early as 1000 BC, people enjoyed chocolate in a drink. Cocoa trees were believed to have been around since between 400 B and 1500 BC in the Amazon basin, Central America. It was cultivated by the Maya, Toltec and Aztec of what...
- History Of Coffee In Africa
Studies have shown that coffee is native to the Kaffa province southwest of Ethiopia. Coffee Arabica grew here wild. And it was here that the local inhabitants began using the bean for their own, evolving purposes. The origins of coffee are shrouded...
- History Of Mangosteen
In South East Asia the fruit is known as Fruit of God because of health benefits and delicious taste of fruits. The fruit has had a long history of use dating back thousands of years. The place of origin of the mangosteen is unknown but is believed to...
- History Of Coffee Until 1600
The word of coffee is probably derived form the former Kingdom of Kaffa. Coffee originated on the plateaus of central Ethiopia. Either the Ethiopian province of Kaffa in Ethiopia’s southwestern highlands or the plateaus of central Ethiopia is likely...