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Chocolate Comes from Cacao All the chocolate we eat comes from one rather special plant—the cacao (kah KOW) tree. These trees produce pods containing pulp-covered seeds. The seeds, once fermented and dried, are processed into chocolate. Cacao trees thrive beneath the shady branches of taller trees in the rainforest. They won’t begin to bear fruit, however, until they are at least three to five years old. Cacao trees produce flowers year-round. Tiny flies called midges pollinate these small flowers. Eventually, cacao pods will sprout from the trunk and branches of the tree. Midges have the fastest wingbeat of any creature on earth—1,000 beats a second! They’re so small that they fit easily on the head of a straight pin. A cacao pod contains about 30-50 almond-sized seeds—enough to make about seven milk chocolate candy bars! The Maya Were Early Chocolate Makers Before chocolate was a sweet candy, it was a spicy beverage. Some of the earliest known chocolate drinkers were the ancient Maya of Central America. The Maya civilization reached its height during the Classic Period (250-900 C.E.[A.D.]). During this time, the Maya began gathering cacao seeds from rainforest trees and planting this important crop in household gardens. The Maya plucked the pods, scooped out the seeds, and ground them into chocolate using a stone mano (MAH noh) and metate (meh TAH tay). The Maya mixed chocolate with cornmeal, chile peppers, honey, and water. They poured this concoction from cup to bowl and back again until a nice, thick layer of foam formed on top. Maya priests presented a chocolate drink at sacred altars during special religious ceremonies. They also made offerings of cacao seeds to the gods. Anyone in ancient Maya society could drink chocolate. However, when Maya aristocrats served chocolate, they used lavishly decorated cups made by specially trained artists. The Aztecs Used Cacao Seeds as Money By 1200, the ancient Aztecs had developed a taste for chocolate from their Maya neighbors to the south. Cacao became key to the vast trade empire of the Aztec people—not only as a luxury drink, but also as money, an offering to the gods, and tribute to rulers. Cacao wouldn’t grow in Aztec territory, so Aztec traders traveled to Maya lands to purchase seeds. Because cacao was precious cargo, Aztec warriors often protected traders on their long journey. Cacao seeds could be used as money for shopping at the market. Customers paid with cacao to purchase food, clothes, and even kitchen tools like the pot seen here. Some dishonest merchants actually made counterfeit cacao seeds, too! Chocolate was a special drink reserved only for wealthy Aztecs—merchants, priests, decorated warriors, or kings like the famous Montezuma. (Some reports say he drank 50 goblets of chocolate a day!) People also paid tribute to their ruler with cacao seeds. The Aztecs presented offerings of cacao to their god Quetzalcoatl (ket sal koh AH tul), who is often depicted as a feathered serpent. The Spanish Took Chocolate Home to Europe In 1521, the Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés led his country’s forces in battle to conquer the Aztec empire. The Spanish victors carried many treasures back home with them—including cacao seeds and the recipe for the Aztec chocolate drink. Within 100 years, the popularity of this frothy beverage spread to the rest of Europe, where it became a taste sensation only the wealthy could afford. The Spanish invented a wooden stirring stick called a molinillo (moh lin EE oh) to whip their chocolate into a froth. They also added sugar to sweeten the bitter beverage. The Spanish carried home other American foods never seen before in Europe, such as corn, chile peppers, vanilla, tomatoes, and potatoes. Like the Aztecs, Europeans created special serving dishes just for drinking chocolate. (In fact, saucers were invented specifically to keep chocolate off of fine clothes.) Like the coffee shops of today, chocolate houses became popular places in 17th century Europe to socialize and drink chocolate. Wealthy people drank chocolate for breakfast. It was considered the height of good breeding to lie in bed and leisurely sip a cup of hot cocoa. Mass Production Made Chocolate Candy Affordable By the 1800s, new innovations and processes made it possible to create solid bars of chocolate for eating, not just liquid chocolate for drinking. New inventions, machines, and mass production made chocolate affordable to a much broader public, not just the rich and famous. Compared with the old horse-, wind-, or humanoperated mills, the steamdriven chocolate mill (invented in 1732) was a huge improvement. It made it much easier and faster to grind up cacao seeds and inexpensively produce large amounts of chocolate. In 1828, Dutchman Coenraad Van Houten invented the chocolate press. Still used today, this machine squeezes out cocoa butter and makes it possible to produce solid chocolate as well as cocoa powder. In 1847, the Fry & Sons Company of Bristol, England, introduced the first chocolate bar meant for eating as a snack. Many people in Mexico still enjoy making chocolate using manos, metates, and molinillos like the Maya, Aztec, and Spanish. Chocolate Is Still A Treasured Treat Today While inventions made chocolate easier to produce, advertising made it something people craved. Over the years, marketing campaigns helped to sell thousands of pounds of chocolate each year by enticing people to try new brands and flavors. In 1998 alone, Americans ate 3.3 billion pounds of chocolate. In fact, statistics show that the average person in the United States eats about 12 pounds of chocolate each year! Richard Cadbury (the founder of England’s Cadbury chocolate company) introduced a terrific money-making tradition by creating the first Valentine’s Day candy box in 1868. Robert Stroehecker is the “father” of the first chocolate Easter bunny— yet another successful holiday advertising icon, which first appeared in 1890. The United States Armed Forces also helped make chocolate a popular treat. During both world wars, the rations of U.S. soldiers included this sweet for extra energy. Today, Army D-rations still include 4 ounces of chocolate