Chocolate: The Mesoamericans

546 Words2 Pages

Chocolate As you may know, chocolate has been around for many years, dating back to the Mayan and Aztec times (Ackar). This sweet treat has not always been sweet though. It started out as just plain old cocoa beans that were very bitter. Once these cocoa beans began to export and different countries started to receive them, those countries started to add spices and other items to enhance the flavor and make to the experience even more delicious. The Mesoamericans, or Mayans, first started using cocoa beans in 600 B.C. as a remedy for certain disorders (Lippi). There is evidence of this found on ancient artifacts such as old writings and remnants of pottery (Lippi). The Mayans thought that the cocoa pods were the symbol of life and were the food of the gods, so they started using them as a currency due to the wisdom and power it gave when consumed (Ackar). Then in 1528, Hernan Cortez, a conquistador, brought cocoa beans and the recipe of xocoatl, an Aztec and Mayan drink, to …show more content…

However, actual chocolate bars were not made until the 18th century in mechanical mills (Ackar). These milk chocolate bars, instead of …show more content…

Based on information from 2011, it was shown that Germany exports the most chocolate in the world at about 16.29% (Simoes, Observatory of Economic Complexity: Countries that export Chocolate). This value is at 3.78 billion dollars (Simoes, Observatory of Economic Complexity: Countries that export Chocolate). Other information showed that France imports the most chocolate in the world, also based on a 2011 visual, at 8.5% (Simoes, Observatory of Economic Complexity: Countries that import Chocolate). This is worth almost 1.98 billion dollars (Simoes, Observatory of Economic Complexity: Countries that import Chocolate). The chocolate industry is a large and scrumptious

More about Chocolate: The Mesoamericans

Open Document