Theobroma cacao originates from the Upper Amazon, where it has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years, originally by the Olmecs. Since the at least the 7th century CE, cocoa beans were used by the Aztecs and the Incas as a form of currency, or to create the drink xocoatl. Xocolatl is the Nahuatl word from which ‘chocolate’ is ultimately derived.
Cocoa production and consumption remained confined to Latin America until the arrival of Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century. Hernán Cortéz was the first to bring cocoa to Europe, recognising the potential of chocolate as a desirable drink for European nobility. By 1580, cocoa plantations controlled by Spanish conquistadors were already a source of considerable wealth for the colonial heartland.
In 1737, cocoa was given the scientific name Theobroma cacao by Carl Linneaus, the Swedish botanist known as the “father of modern taxonomy”. In naming the fruit he drew inspiration from the Greek word ambrosia, meaning a substance thought to confer immortality on anyone who tasted it. Chocolate’s power verged on the mystical, and it was often considered dangerous. Indeed, for a time, chocolate was considered a medicinal elixir fit only for adults; in 1702, a European doctor wrote that “Chocolate’s properties are such that they stimulate Venus’ ardour.”
Coenraad van Houten created a cocoa press which could separate fat from cocoa beans in 1828, developing a process known as “Dutching”. This led to the creation of cocoa powder. Unlike traditionally processed cocoa, this powder is not acidic, making it more palatable for mass market consumption. In 1850, Joseph Fry discovered that adding cocoa butter back into cocoa powder created something malleable, which allowed the development of chocolate bars. It was this industrialisation which transformed cocoa something that was typically consumed as a beverage to something usually eaten.
Chocolate: Aphrodisiac
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