The Mexican Legend About The Origin of Cocoa

The Mexican Legend About The Origin of Cocoa

It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t love chocolate. People can have it in endless ways nowadays; mixed with hot milk in a cup, in thousands of different desserts and candies, wine, etc. The list never ends.

And for obvious reasons throughout history, we have asked ourselves: Where did it come from? How was it discovered? For how long have been we consuming it (one way or another)?

Where does it come from?

Everything started about 4,000 years ago in what was known as Mesoamerica; what we know today as Mexico. This is the place where the first cocoa seeds and plants were found. One of the first tribes and civilizations that were able to transform the cocoa into chocolate was The Olmec; they drank chocolate during some of their rituals and used it as a medicine, too.

Later on, a few centuries after that, The Mayans considered chocolate as the drink of the gods. The way they prepared it was quite unique and probably not exactly the way that we would do it in the present day: It was made out of roasted and ground cocoa seeds mixed with chillies, water, and cornmeal.

To mix all the ingredients evenly, they poured it from one cup to another; repeating the technique a few times until it had a foamy and thick consistency. They named it “xocolatl”, which is translated as “bitter water”.

When the 15th century arrived, the cocoa seeds were considered to be so valuable that The Aztecs used the seeds as currency. According to their beliefs, chocolate was a gift from the God Quetzalcoatl and they used to drink it to refresh themselves, as an aphrodisiac, and before going to war.

The Legend

This ancient legend tells about how the God Quetzalcoatl gifted The Toltecs with miraculous cocoa seeds. He wanted his people to be able to live healthily and be well fed so that they could become the best version of themselves: being generous, talented, hard-working & knowledgeable.

It is said that Quetzalcoatl stole the cocoa seeds from the god’s paradise and he decided to plant a small bush in Tula, Mexico; a city located in central Mexico, approximately 30 minutes away from what we know today as Mexico City (CDMX).

After planting the seeds, he asked the god Tlaloc who was the god of water, to send rain to the area so that the seeds could flourish and grow. And then he visited Xochiquetzal, the goddess of love and beauty so that she could give the tree beautiful flowers. Eventually, the seeds flourished and they produced the cocoa seeds.

How did it arrive in Europe?

One of the first European countries that managed to obtain chocolate was Spain. No one knows exactly the date on which that happened but is supposed that Hernán Cortés brought it to his homeland in 1528.

According to the legend, Cortés brought the first cocoa seeds to Spain from one of his expeditions to America. When he and his troops were looking for gold and riches, the last Aztec emperor Cuahutémoc, shared a cup of cocoa with him.

Once he was in Spain, they changed the original recipe and added honey to sweeten the naturally bitter taste. Soon after that, the drink became popular amongst the wealthy. The catholic monks loved it and used to drink it during their religious practices.

It is important and really interesting to know the history behind the aspects of our daily lives that affect us and our lifestyle. Even if it is something as simple as where our favorite desserts come from! We’ll soon realize how the world is somehow delicately interconnected and we’ll appreciate each other’s culture even more. So, next time you enjoy a cup of hot chocolate, make sure to remember all of its beautiful histories and share it with your loved ones.

 

Consulted sources:

The Legend of Cocoa | Inside Mexico

A Brief History of Chocolate | CHOCOLATE.ORG

AUTHOR INFO
Dennise Chávez
My name is Dennise Chávez. I enjoy reading, writing and indulging on art. I'm also very passionate about history, semiotics and anthropology. I hope you enjoy reading my content, thank you for your attention!
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