Chocolate, the food of the gods, has ancient and exotic origins. The Maya were the first cocoa growers and the Aztecs the first to drink it. A cup of xocolatl, named after the god Quetzalcoatl who presented man with the cocoa plant, was considered by the Aztecs as a real energy drink: it eliminated signs of fatigue and stimulated both physical and mental strength. Cocoa seeds were so important for the Aztecs they used it as money. At the beginning of the sixteenth-century, the Spanish conquerors firstly brought seeds home to Spain with them, followed by a load of cocoa beans and equipment to prepare xocolatl. It was a complete success
Xocolatl became chocolate and the drink rapidly spread across Spain and then to papal Rome, the sophisticated Italian courts and those of the king of France and so on across the Asburg Empire and all of Europe. In 1737 cocoa was named the “Nectar of the gods†by the Swedish naturalist Carlo Linneo who classified the plant with the Greek name Theobroma, meaning “nectar of the godsâ€.
The cocoa plant only grows in Equador, in the band between the Tropics, where the temperature is hot and the environment is humid. Major producers include the Ivory Coast, Brazil and Ghana who export the dried cocoa beans worldwide. They arrive to their destinations in sacks and then proceed to follow different working processes which range from roasting to kneading, being ground and pressed. The last part of the transformation only occurs when the cocoa arrives to the handcraft laboratories, the chocolate shops, where it is conched, tempered and modeled with knowing hands to transform the cocoa into more refined chocolate.
A food source rich in properties, we have known for some time that chocolate, as supported by the Aztecs, strengthens our will, eases fatigue and produces a state of mental and physical well.being thanks to the presence of Theobromine, a central nervous system stimulant, Phenyethyamine, a natural antiphetamine against depression and Polyphenol, with its anti-oxidant powers. Today, chocolate is processed in thousands of ways, enriched with spices and dried or fresh fruit and infinite shapes and recipes. The artisans are the master chocolatiers, the chocolate artists who support tradition and experiment with new offerings, using ingredients that at times appear strange, yet the results are always surprising.
LOVERS OF CHOCOLATE
Queen Mare Antoinette always traveled with her personal master chocolatier. Napoleon Bonaparte drank a cup of chocolate every night to restore the body and soul and Giacomo Casanova believed in the power of chocolate as an aphrodisiac. Goldoni consumed large amounts of chocolate and was such a lover of chocolate that he often referred to it in his plays. Mozart and Da Ponte praised its pleasantness in “Così fan tutteâ€.
CHOCOLATE TASTING
Tasting includes a "sensorial" analysis of the chocolate from the following points of view: aspect, chocolate must appear bright and shiny. Its aroma should be intense and rich with various aromas. To touch, it should be malleable and flowing. When broken, it should have a dry sound with perceived primary and secondary aromas, sweet, bitter or tangy.
