Chocolate in Aztec Culture

The mighty Aztecs reined supreme over vast tracts of Mesoamerica and cocoa can take at least some of the praise for the later success of this great civilisation. In these days before bank accounts and dollar bills, cocoa was actually used as a form of currency. I don’t think I would have been a particularly good banker if I’d been around in those days; I’d have eaten all the cash before it could be exchanged for anything else. However, it seems I’m not the only one with a soft spot for chocolate. One of the Aztec Emperors of the time – Montezuma – was said to get through a fair few cups of chocolate every day. Still, I suppose he had a ready enough supply of the stuff that he could keep a stash for his own consumption and still made a good profit with the remainder. Most people could only dream of enjoying chocolate as a luxury drink. The seeds were so valuable that they would have been used for trading. Still, I suppose an Emperor has to have a few perks.

Chocolate in those days wouldn’t be easily recognisable as the bars we enjoy today. It was mainly taken as a drink and, bearing in mind there wasn’t any sugar around, it was more of a bitter brew than the sweet beverage we think of today. The cocoa seeds were roasted and ground to a powder that was made into a drink. They did add flavourings but these would have been spices such as pepper or chilli. It was even occasionally dyed a dark red colour and used as part of rituals and special celebrations.