The “Hot” in Hot Chocolate?
October 4, 2012
I am not your typical morning person who opens her eyes the moment the sun shows up. In fact, I am the type who curls myself up in bed and extends a few more minutes. But once I hear my tummy rumbling, begging for food, I summon all my might to pull myself up to grab my energizer buddy, the hot chocolate.
Did my little story inspire you? I know it did. 🙂 So let's say that you are now sitting in your favorite spot, taking hold of that delicious cup of hot chocolate, and I am across from you sipping from my own mug, when all of a sudden I ask if have you ever wondered where hot chocolate came from?
Here is another story...
The Mayan Indians of ancient times produced cacao beans that they oftentimes traded with the Aztecs. The Aztecs made something out of it by grinding the beans into bits, mixing it with water, and adding spices to their so called xocoatl drink.
They developed a fancy for it so they started growing their own cacao trees. The Emperor Montezuma was in full support saying, "The divine drink, which builds up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this drink permits a man to walk a whole day without food."
Imagine a drink that could do all that. From then on, the drink traveled across the country and around the world reaching Europe. A man named Hernan Cortez brought the xocoatl drink to the court of Spanish King Charles V.
The Spaniards made their own version by setting aside the spices and added a new ingredient to the concoction, the sweetener! It gained popularity in taste, but not so much in name, because they found in hard to pronounce. From "xocoatl" it was now known to be "chocolat."
Am I boring you already? Hang on. We are almost there...
So as I was saying, the drink jumped to Austria, where Princess Anna introduced chocolat to King Louis XIII and then it spread all over Italy. Cafes were opened, patrons were increasing, and the name was once again changed to “chocolate” by the English fellas.
Today we owe it to Dutchman Hendrick Van Houten who took the time to formulate the drink we all love now. Which is why hot chocolate is considered to be a Dutch drink, because it really is, in its current day formulation.
There you have it. The next time you drink your hot choco, you now have a little story with you that you can retell to someone else. It will become a vicious cycle, so you better prepare more cups.
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