Our modern delight began in a different form than that which it now exists in. Discovering the cacao trees with their large seed pods in the Yucatan jungles which surrounded their settlements, the Maya of the Classic Period (about 250-900 C.E.) took to cultivating the plant. Following a harvest, the cocoa seeds were fermented, roasted, and ground into the dry cocoa paste. The addition of water, a variety of peppers, corn meal, vanilla, and other ingredients to the paste generated a spicy, bitter drink known as xocoatl (chocolatl).
 Credit: www.chokladkultur.se/ aztecs.jpg
While consumption of the chocolate beverage was widespread among the Maya, by the time of the Aztecs xocatl had become a pleasure reserved for only the privileged. The Aztec royalty, priesthood, and decorate persons were the few persons in society permitted to consume xocatl. During the feasts of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma, Spanish chroniclers noted the ruler consumed 50 servings of the drink, and an additional 2000 more were prepared for the remainder of his court. Throughout its history xocoatl was consumed during the celebrations which recognized state and religious festivals, and divine offerings also included cocoa seeds.
  The Spaniards, both men and women, that are accustomed to the country, are very greedy of this Chocolaté. They say they make diverse sorts of it, some hot, some cold, and some temperate, and put therein much of that "chili"; yea, they make paste thereof, the which they say is good for the stomach and against the catarrh.
The preceding quotation is that of Jose de Acosta, a Jesuit missionary who lived in both Mexico and Peru, in regard to the consumption of chocolate, specifically xocoatl, by the Spanish colonists. Both indigenous and colonial preference for the drink resulted in its export to Europe somewhere near the year 1585. Too potent for European tastes, the Spanish removed the peppers and added cinnamon and sugar to obscure the bitterness. Chocolate became a favorite among the Spanish. By the end of the 17th century, the drink was spread beyond Spain. The French royals held a monopoly of chocolate to ensure only the royal court might enjoy the foreign treat. A number of chocolate houses were established in England in the later 1600s.
As with the Aztecs, the consumption of the sweetened chocolate was reserved for the European elite, a result of the high costs of chocolate and sugar imports. To meet the booming demand in the Old World, cocoa and sugar plantations proliferated throughout the tropical European colonies in the Americas. Like with the many other cash crops which developed in the New World, these plantations resulted in the thriving African slave trade to supply the labor force needed to support the crop production.
 Credit: http://www.coffee-tea-etc.com/
images/cocoa/hydraulic_press.jpg
Eating chocolate began in England with its creation in bar form by Joseph Fry in 1847. The new product replaced the old, grainy chocolate in Europe with a new smooth and velvety form and became an instant sensation. Daniel Peter and Henri Nestlé added milk chocolate to the mix in 1875. Thus the modern day milk chocolate came into production.
Sources:
Kara Chocolates
The Field Museum's Chocolate Exhibit
Chocolate - Wikipedia
Cacao - Wikipedia
More to drink! 
Chicha and Beverages of Peru
Beverages of the Maya
Aztecan and Southwestern Agave
Teas of North America
Chocolate: A History (by Apo Mayta Huacac)
Return to The Inn Of the Blue Macaw OR to America's SpringFest 2006
Thank yous to: Mangas, Topi, Senex Caecilius, Akatena Sequoyah.
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Featured November 6 , 2006
