An Adventure in History: 5/9/10

A Delicious Treat... CHOCOLATE!!!!

A long time ago, about 2,000 years ago, the Maya discovered the sweet, tasty secret of the cacao tree. It was a treasured Mayan treat and so important that there were pictures of people pouring and enjoying chocolate. The Maya were supposedly the first ones who drank chocolate. But instead of a really sweet confection, it was a spicy drink. It was first ground into a chocolate paste that they mixed with water, Chile peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients. Then, they pour the bitter mix back and forth from a cup to the pot until it developed a thick, foamy top. Then, they would’ve probably sweetened it with honey or flower nectar. Mayan people of all social levels, rich or poor, savored the occasional drink of chocolate. But the rich had special, elaborately detailed vessels decorated by special artist. The vessels show different ways that Mayans use it. It showed kings, or even animals and gods, drinking chocolate. It wasn’t just a drink, though. It was also used for ceremonial purposes. Couples drank chocolate as part of their marriage ceremonies. And because the Maya think that blood was the best sacrifice, Maya priests drip blood onto cacao pods. After the Maya were taken over by the Aztecs, it was not only a luxury drink, but it was also used as money, offerings to gods, and payment to rulers.

Janice Lee, Michelle Cuotrona, Bianca Tolentino

The Mayan and the Chocolate Factory

Today, chocolate is a delicious, sweet, and popular treat that is favored by many people around the globe. But where did chocolate come from?

Chocolate was first made by the Mesoamericans. The Mayans in Mesoamerica took cacao trees from rainforests and grew them in their own backyards. They then harvested the cacao fruit from the trees, and used the beans/seeds inside of the fruit. The cacao beans were then fermented, roasted, and ground into paste. The Mayans mixed the paste with water, chili peppers, cornmeal, and other ingredients all together to make a spicy, bitter chocolate drink! Today, chocolate is a sweet treat that can be consumed by drinking it or eating it, but the Mesoamericans only drank it as a beverage. The drink was also spicy and bitter, very unlike today, because the Mesoamericans did not have access to sugar in their region. However, the Spanish shipped cacao into Europe from Mesoamerica, and chocolate was later sweetened with sugar, cinnamon, and other spices, much later to be enjoyed by people all over the world.

Chocolate had a significant role in the Mayans' religious and social lives. It was used for royal and religious events. For example, priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods. Also, chocolate drinks were served during sacred ceremonies of the Mesoamericans. The Latin name for the cacao tree was "Theobroma cacao", meaning "food of the gods". Cacao was believed to have magical or even divine properties. Chocolate was greatly prized by the Mesoamericans, and nowadays, it is a yummy treat that everyone loves!

cacao beans/seeds

cacao tree

modern chocolate treats (yum)

Bianca T.

Michelle C.

Janice L.

IMPRORTANT MIND-BREAKING NEWS!!! THE HISTORY OF CHOCOLATE!!!

Melina Castorillo
Michelle Ni

Monkeys originally found the cacao plant and learned of its sweet fruit. Ancient men followed their example and picked the fruit as they walked by. The pulp of the cacao fruit tasted like melons and apricots, but the beans inside were bitter. But by accident the bean got roasted and let off a wonderful chocolate aroma.

The Mayans prized their chocolate. Burial tombs have been found to contain chocolate offerings, including ancient potteries. Vases were covered with paintings showing Mayan gods fighting over beans and kings waiting to be served this cacao. The cacao plant was even included in myths, "In this myth, immortal ball-playing twins are beheaded by the gods of death. One has his head hung on a cacao tree. The magical head manages to mate with a woman who becomes the mother of twin gods. These two defeat the gods of death and then end up in the sky as the sun and the moon."

Chocolate is still has its important aspect in culture today. Its most famous day of honor is Valentines' Day where people all over the world express their love and thanks in the all shapes and sizes of chocolate. Chocolate also has its benefits to mankind. For example, it can suppress coughing, reduce blood pressure, and make you more energized.

But unfortunately, chocolate has become almost addictive and can cause you to become extraordinarily thick.

CHOCOLATE

This is a chocolate drink with whipped cream which became possible due to the cacao beans of Mesoamerica!!!

We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times. But actually, chocolate dates back to the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage. For these people, chocolate wasn’t just a favorite food—it also played an important role in their religious and social lives. Many people in Classic Period Maya society could drink chocolate at least on occasion, although it was a particularly favored beverage for royalty. But in Aztec society, primarily rulers, priests, decorated soldiers, and honored merchants could partake of this sacred brew.Chocolate also played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. Not only were they important for drinking as a beverage. Before, they were also used to trade items with the other foreign lands. Soon as the foreign lands found the taste of the cacao to be wonderful, they started to import cacao to Europe to made into a chocolate goody. The Industrial Revolution witnessed the development of an enormous number of new mechanical inventions and ushered in the era of the factory. The steam engine made it possible to grind cacao and produce large amounts of chocolate cheaply and quickly.Later inventions like the cocoa press and the conching machine made it possible to create smooth, creamy, solid chocolate for eating—not just liquid chocolate for drinking.Today, additional steps in the processing of cacao help create a variety of new flavors and forms for chocolate candy. But cacao is more than a source for calories and confections. The chemicals and substances in cacao can be extracted and incorporated into cosmetics and medicines. And the by-products of cacao can be used as mulch or fodder for cattle.

Can You Resist the Temptation? just LOOK at that chocolate rose..

Sunny Kim, Ben Espejo, Kyle Lu!

Chooocolattee

Chocolate. The delicious, thick and creamy sweet chocolate. Did you know that the cacao beans to produce your favorite candy are the seeds of the Theobroma cacao tree?

The ancient Mayan civilization believed that they were give chocolate after being created out of maize, a type of corn. The Mayans honored the "God of Cocoa" called Ek Chuah by sacrificing a cocoa colored dog in the month of April. But before the Mayans, the Olmec civilization first used cocoa from around 19000 B.C. to about 400 B.C. This was because the Olmecs were the mother culture for the Mayans, which means that they influenced many later civilizations.

In the Mayan language, chocolate is called xocoatl and the tree is called cacahuatquchtl, the only tree that the Mayans said that was worth naming. The Maya drank chocolate drinks made out of roasted cocoa beans, water, and spice. They also used it as currency back then. 100 cocoa beans could even buy a slave! Also, ancient Mayan pottery shows that a god is fighting over cacao. The cacao tree was so important to the Mayans that they said that in the Bible, the tree in the middle of the garden was a cacao tree.

Chocolate Mayan History

Chocolate was used in a lot of ways in Mayan culture. It was eaten and it was drank by nobles and not the peasants. They also used it in religious rituals for their gods and godesses. They thought the chocolate was the Gods' food. To Mayans cocoa pods symbolized life and fertility. They also mixed chocolate with water, chili peppers, and corn meal to make a spicy chocolate drink. Chocolate came from a tree called cacahuaguchtl. The word chocolate came from xocoatl which is a Mayan word meaning bitter water. Ek Chuah is the god of cocoa. The Aztecs also obtained their chocolate from Mesoamerica, with Maya being the major provider of chocolate.

Matthew H
Michael P
Jeremy S

CHOCOLATE!

In our world today, chocolate is one of the most beloved sweets. :D Chocolate has been a phenomenal success being made into a variety of different desserts and such. Yet, many do not know that chocolate was first discovered and cherished more than 1700 years ago with the Mayans. It was cherished so much that only the Mayan nobles could drink chocolate. Chocolate played an important role in Mayan history.

The Mayans did not call this beloved sweet chocolate, but cacao, being that it was made from the cacao bean. They took the bean from its tree in the rain forest and harvested, fermented, roasted, and ground it into a paste. Next, the Mayans mixed it with water, chili peppers, and cornmeal, resulting in a frothy, spicy, chocolate drink. The drink was a drink for royalty and was a treasured item in trade and society.

To the Mayans, the cacao bean was considered holy. It symbolized life and fertility. They even worshiped a chocolate god called Chokola'j. The cacao been was also considered as the "food of the gods." Stones from palaces and temples revealed carved pictures of cocoa pods being offered to the gods. Cacao pods were often used in religious rituals and sacred ceremonies.

Chocolate has been cherished for many, many centuries, although it has been served in various different ways. Next time we chew on a Hershey's bar, think of the Mayans and how chocolate all started.

Poonam Bhakta, La'Shawn Hill, Courtney Shin, and NICOLE WALDECKER

Holy Chocolate in Mesoamerica

Harrison Khoo

Henry Mock

Augustine Ng

Chocolate was an important part to the Mesoamerican culture. Both the Mayans and the Aztecs used it as a religious drink called Xocolatl, or bitter drink. It was made by harvesting, fermenting, roasting, and grounding cacao seeds until they turned into a paste. Following, it was mixed with water, cornmeal, spices, and more to create a spicy, frothy, bitter chocolate drink. This drink was very expensive and only the royalty, nobility, and warriors were able to drink it. In addition, this drink was used as currency and was traded between the Aztecs and Mayans. The seeds were offered to the different gods as part of religious and sacred ceremonies. Apart from this, it was used to give people strength. Overall, chocolate has had a strong impact in the religious lives of Mesoamericans.

CHOCLATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

This is by Daphne, Erin, and Kaili :D

Olmecs
~first to domesticate the plant and use the beans
~thought that there were secrets of health in the beans(When patients had to gain weight they could eat choclate, stimulate the the nervous system of weak patients, improve digestion, anemia, poor appetite, fatigue, and kidney stones. It was also used to make medicine less bitter.)
~beans were an important part of this ancient civilizations diet and culture from as early as 600 B.C.

Mayans
~chocolate for every meal
~traded their cacao beans
~chocolate was spicy.
~they used cacao beans as the currency(4 cacao beansfor a pumpkin)
(10 cacao beans for a rabbit)
(100 cacao beans for a slave)
~Mayans and Aztects' made their chocolate spicy
~Burial tombs have been found with pots of offerings with cacao beans
~ the sacred book of the Mayans the Popul Vuh has a cacao tree instead of an apple tree for their story of creation

Fun Facts
~cacao beans were not used to make chocoalte bars, but a bitter spicy taste that are a spicy frothy drink. they usually mixed it with chiles.
~Today, the Mexicans that lived in Mesoamerica treasure their choclate so much they still make the frothy drink today!

~<3 Daphne, Erin, Kaili :D

We tend to think of chocolate as a sweet candy created during modern times. But actually, chocolate dates back to the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica who drank chocolate as a bitter beverage. For these people, chocolate wasn’t just a favorite food—it also played an important role in their religious and social lives. Many people in Classic Period Maya society could drink chocolate at least on occasion, although it was a particularly favored beverage for royalty. But in Aztec society, primarily rulers, priests, decorated soldiers, and honored merchants could partake of this sacred brew.Chocolate also played a special role in both Maya and Aztec royal and religious events. Priests presented cacao seeds as offerings to the gods and served chocolate drinks during sacred ceremonies. Not only were they important for drinking as a beverage. Before, they were also used to trade items with the other foreign lands. Soon as the foreign lands found the taste of the cacao to be wonderful, they started to import cacao to Europe to made into a chocolate goody. The Industrial Revolution witnessed the development of an enormous number of new mechanical inventions and ushered in the era of the factory. The steam engine made it possible to grind cacao and produce large amounts of chocolate cheaply and quickly.Later inventions like the cocoa press and the conching machine made it possible to create smooth, creamy, solid chocolate for eating—not just liquid chocolate for drinking.Today, additional steps in the processing of cacao help create a variety of new flavors and forms for chocolate candy. But cacao is more than a source for calories and confections. The chemicals and substances in cacao can be extracted and incorporated into cosmetics and medicines. And the by-products of cacao can be u

sed as mulch or fodder for cattle.

This is a chocolate drink with whipped cream which became possible due to the cacao beans of Mesoamerica!!!

The Role of Chocolate in Mesoamerica

To people today, chocolate is considered as only a drink and a delicious treat, but in the Mesoamerican times, it was a much much more. During the Mesoamerican times, there were many different civilizations which considered chocolate sacred. The Mayan thought that cacao seeds symbolized life and fertility. Life and fertility were considered the utmost importance. Cacao seeds were also represented in religious rituals. Mayan texts referred to chocolate as "God's food".
After the Mayan empire fell, the Aztec empire rose. The Aztecs, like the Mayans, saw chocolate as sacred and worshipped it. Chocolate was special because of its connection to their god, Quetzalcoatl. The first cacao tree was believed to be stolen from the Garden of Paradise by him. Other than being worshipped, chocolate was also seen as a "health elixir". It was considered a cure for stomach aches, hay fever and was also good for health. The emperor Montezuma once said," The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits a man to walk for a whole day without food."
Although it had many health benefits, in both cultures, chocolate was only drunk by royalty and nobility as a spicy, frothy drink. Lesser classes had little chance of drinking it all. In fact, they were persecuted if they were caught drinking it.
The Mesoamericans had many more uses for chocolate than the people in today's world. Chocolate was special on many accounts, but it isn't appreciated as much today as it was in the olden days by Mayans and Aztecs.

Mmm...Ancient Chocolate...

Chocolate, is very common in life. Whether it's chocolate drinks or chocolate candy, we enjoy it all. But, did you know that chocolate actually started in early Mesoamerica? Cacao; a tree that was used to make chocolate drinks, was used and drank as a bitter beverage to the Mesoamericans. Chocolate played an important role in their religious and social life. For example, chocolate was used in everyday life and rituals. Also, chocolate has been associated with long distance trade and luxury. Chocolate, additionally, was used to make sauces and drinks. Chocolate drinks were made of cocoa beans and water. Cacao was mostly grown in the lowlands, so chocolate had to be transported to the highlands. There were many uses of chocolate in the early times which affected what we now eat and drink, chocolate.

- Diego Gonzalez

- Don Lee

- Anthony Mao

Cacao or Cocoa is the Question?

Chocolate has played an important role in Mayan history. It first evolved from the seed of the cocoa bean and the Mayans started making chocolate as early as the 6th century A.D. The Mayans called the cocoa tree cocanuqucti. For the Mayans they believed the cocoa pods symbolizes life and fertility. The cocoa pods were often represented in religious rituals and the cocoa is referred as the god's food according to the text and literature. Chocolate has impacted the ways some humans worshiped and expressed their values.

I <3 CHCOLATE!!!! :D Jocelyn :)

CHOCOLATE FTW <333333333333333333333333333333 Jennifer Poh

Im Ganstaaaa beat that you chocolatttteeeeee --- <3 Allison Yoon :]

Maya and their chocolate.

The Maya believe that chocolate was given to them after they were made out of maize. The Mayan word for chocolate was/is xocoatl. This was a Pan-European word for chocolate. They also made a chocolate drink called chocolatl out of roasted cocoa beans, water and spice. Maya also used cocoa beans as currency. Cocoa was only for high-ranking adult males. This meant priests, high government officials, military officers, distinguished warriors, and sacrificial beings. Women and children were not allowed to drink chocolate becasue it was too valuable. The Ancient Maya called the cocoa tree “cacahuatquchtl”. It was the only tree named. They thought the tree was from the gods and that the cocoa pods were the god’s gifts to humans. Chocolate was crucial to the Mayan Society.

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Justin Wu, Matthew Chou, Bryan Forster.