Who doesn’t savor a hot chocolate or hot cocoa after spending time out in the cold playing in the snow, skiing, or shoveling? But did you know there is a difference between the two hot beverages? Not only do the two have distinctive tastes, they are made from slightly different ingredients, and their histories are separated by hundreds of years.
Although we do not think of hot chocolate as being an ancient beverage, its origin can be traced to an Aztec drink called xocoatl. Some historians believe the word chocolate is derived from the Aztec word “chocolatl” or “xocolatl.” Since the Aztecs obtained the cacoa beans from the Mayan Indians, chocolate may also mean hot water, from the Mayan word “chocol haa.” The Mayan Indians served a chocolate drink mixed with spices, wine, and water for religious ceremonies.
Using cacoa beans obtained from the Mayan Indians, the Aztecs ground the beans into a coarse paste which they mixed with water and spices. The drink was served cold. The Aztecs believed this thick spicy bitter chocolate drink provided strength, fought off fatigue, and was associated with the god of fertility. Emperor Montezuma, who reigned from 1502 to 1520, is quoted as having said of xocoatl: “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.”
It is recorded that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of xocoatl from a gold goblet each day, believing each was blessed by the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. (www.chocolate.org/montezuma.html)
Due to the high price of the beans, the drink was only enjoyed by the upper class and priests.
Hernan Cortez arrived in Mexico in 1519 and is credited for introducing a chocolate drink to Spain. He was so enthusiastic about the bean that he later established a cocoa plantation in Mexico. In 1528 Cortez introduced the cocoa drink to King Charles V of Spain. The Spanish preferred the drink to be sweeter than the Aztecs’ drink; hence the Spanish added cane sugar syrup, vanilla, and spices. Having difficulty pronouncing the Aztec work “xocoatl,” the Spanish referred to the drink as “chocolat.” It quickly became a very popular drink in Spain, but the rest of Europe did not enjoy the rich dark drink for nearly 100 years. During that time, the Spanish experimented and perfected it.
Chocolat was met with skepticism by much of Europe and was initially considered a dangerous, barbarous drug. The French only accepted it after the Paris faculty of medicine declared it to be safe for consumption. In 1615 Anne of Austria, wife of Louis IV, pronounced the chocolate drink the drink of the French court. Like the Aztecs’ drink, it was limited to the enjoyment of wealthy Europeans. Its popularity soon spread throughout Europe by the Spanish friars who carried the beverage with them from monastery to monastery. Europeans experimented with the chocolate drink by mixing chocolate with wine, spices, coffee, and other beverages. The appealing drink quickly gained popularity, as “Chocolat” cafés began opening in Paris, London, and other European cities.
Powdered cocoa was introduced by Dutchman Hendrick Van Houten in 1828 when he patented the process of extracting the natural fat (cocoa butter) from ground cocoa beans. The residue that remained was cooled, pulverized, and sifted to form cocoa powder. Van Houten’s process became known as “Dutching,” and the cocoa powder soon became known as “Dutch chocolate.”
Hot cocoa as we know it today resembles the Dutch recipe. The first hot chocolate house opened in Paris. Today hot chocolate or cocoa is served in pastry and coffee shops throughout Europe. Chocolate as known in the United States is unlike the hot “chocolat” you will experience in cafés and bakeries of Spain. Theirs is a rich, thick substance sometimes similar to our pudding. The taste is amazing, as my children and I discovered on our trip to Spain a few years ago. (It is truly a reason to visit Spain.)
To enrich your Nestles or other commercial brand cocoa mix, try substituting milk for water and adding a tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa along with a package of cocoa mix, and you can enjoy a delightful rich chocolate beverage.
Winter’s not over yet. Next time you’re craving hot chocolate, why not try the Spanish, Mexican, or if you’re more adventuresome, maybe the Aztec recipe?