About Cocoa
The History of Cocoa
Ancient Mayan sculpture of an old Mayan god. In 600 AD the Mayans cultivated cocoa in Central America and made a nourishing and fiery drink they called “Xocolatl” from where we get our word “chocolate”
Cocoa dates back to the Olmecs who lived from 1500 to 400 BC and were the first humans to drink cocoa. More recently, the Mayans in 600 AD cultivated cocoa in Central America and made a nourishing and fiery drink they called “Xocolatl” from where we get our word “chocolate”. Cocoa beans were used as currency.
In 1528, Hernándo Cortés, the famous Spanish conquistador, took the first cocoa back to Spain where it’s said that the Spanish court gave it great approval, although the drink was nothing like today’s cocoa. It was sharp, highly concentrated and was even drunk with pepper added, and possibly sweetened with honey.
It wasn’t till the 1830s that eating chocolate was developed.
