While the chicken was taking the “Old World” by storm, a plant found in the Americas would soon become one of the most valued goods during the period of the Columbian Exchange, and today has become one of the world’s favorite treats. The cacao bean, from which chocolate comes, became one of the most valued goods to the Aztecs and Mesoamericans. It was used as medicine, a refreshing drink, currency, and even as part of a trade system. The Latin name for cacao is Theobroma, which means “food of the gods.” The cacao bean played a major role in ancient South American cultures. The Mayans used cacao as a ritual beverage during marriage ceremonies (Smithsonian). And for nearly one hundred years after Spaniards arrived in the Americas and were introduced
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Cacao in the New World was considered divine in origin, which established its importance in the Mayan world (2000 BC – 250 AD). The Mayans so highly valued cacao beans that it was used as a form of currency (Medicine Hunter). Locals could even pay their taxes with cacao beans. But it was Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors that expanded the cacao economy. Christopher Columbus and his crew were the first Europeans to encounter cacao. In 1502, an Aztec chief visited Columbus and his crew carrying gifts of cloth, copper objects, wooden weapons, and cacao beans, which Columbus and his crew had never recognized (Medicine Hunter). The Aztec chief offered to exchange some of his cacao beans for goods aboard the ship. Though the Aztecs placed high value on cocoa beans, Columbus and his crew did not. But Hernan Cortez, a conquistador who landed at Tabasco, Mexico in 1519, determined the great value of the cacao bean (Medicine Hunter). Cacao could be mixed with water to make chocolate drink and people of high rank drank cacao frequently. The Aztecs added flavor to the drink with native vanilla, chile peppers, and honey, which the Spaniards then began drinking it as well (Medicine Hunter). Upon Cortez’s return to Spain in 1528, he introduced the widely consumed food made from the fruit seeds of a tree to the Europeans, which was the starting point that led to its …show more content…
From that point on into the eighteenth century, the cacao bean was produced and manufactured in every country from England to Austria. During this period, the introduction of the steam engine mechanized grinding cacao beans, reducing production costs and making chocolate affordable to all, not just the rich and noble. Reduced costs and increased availability of grinded cacao beans led to chocolate, now one of the most desired goods in the world. People today enjoy chocolate in thousands of different forms, consuming more than 3 million tons of cacao beans annually. Because cacao bean plants only grow in hot, rainy, and tropical climates, the primary growing regions are Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon), Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea), and Latin America (Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia). The largest producing country by volume is Côte d’Ivoire, which produces thirty-three percent of the global supply (NCF). Because cacao beans are not an industrialized crop, eighty to ninety percent of cacao beans come from small, family-run farms, with approximately five to six million cacao farmers worldwide (NCF). The total production has increased by about thirteen percent from 4.3 million metric tons in 2008 to 4.8 million metric tons in 2012
Cacao in the New World was considered divine in origin, which established its importance in the Mayan world (2000 BC – 250 AD). The Mayans so highly valued cacao beans that it was used as a form of currency (Medicine Hunter). Locals could even pay their taxes with cacao beans. But it was Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors that expanded the cacao economy. Christopher Columbus and his crew were the first Europeans to encounter cacao. In 1502, an Aztec chief visited Columbus and his crew carrying gifts of cloth, copper objects, wooden weapons, and cacao beans, which Columbus and his crew had never recognized (Medicine Hunter). The Aztec chief offered to exchange some of his cacao beans for goods aboard the ship. Though the Aztecs placed high value on cocoa beans, Columbus and his crew did not. But Hernan Cortez, a conquistador who landed at Tabasco, Mexico in 1519, determined the great value of the cacao bean (Medicine Hunter). Cacao could be mixed with water to make chocolate drink and people of high rank drank cacao frequently. The Aztecs added flavor to the drink with native vanilla, chile peppers, and honey, which the Spaniards then began drinking it as well (Medicine Hunter). Upon Cortez’s return to Spain in 1528, he introduced the widely consumed food made from the fruit seeds of a tree to the Europeans, which was the starting point that led to its …show more content…
From that point on into the eighteenth century, the cacao bean was produced and manufactured in every country from England to Austria. During this period, the introduction of the steam engine mechanized grinding cacao beans, reducing production costs and making chocolate affordable to all, not just the rich and noble. Reduced costs and increased availability of grinded cacao beans led to chocolate, now one of the most desired goods in the world. People today enjoy chocolate in thousands of different forms, consuming more than 3 million tons of cacao beans annually. Because cacao bean plants only grow in hot, rainy, and tropical climates, the primary growing regions are Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon), Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea), and Latin America (Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia). The largest producing country by volume is Côte d’Ivoire, which produces thirty-three percent of the global supply (NCF). Because cacao beans are not an industrialized crop, eighty to ninety percent of cacao beans come from small, family-run farms, with approximately five to six million cacao farmers worldwide (NCF). The total production has increased by about thirteen percent from 4.3 million metric tons in 2008 to 4.8 million metric tons in 2012