Hot Chocolate, the humble beginnings of "the food of the Gods"

There are 2 little words in my vocabulary which make me deliriously happy. They are: Theobroma cacao. They mean “food of the gods.”
What am I talking about? Chocolate of course! I love chocolate in ALL forms, though my love for hot chocolate did not develop until I was 17. I am not a huge fan of the hot chocolate that is most readily available in the US, those quick mix packets like Swiss Miss. The first couple of sips are okay, but after that it is too sicky sweet for me and I can’t stomach it. When I was 17 I went on my first trip to Europe and the first country we visited was Austria. I distinctly remember visiting a cute little cafe in Salzburg and ordering a cup of hot chocolate because I was curious to see if it tasted the same as what I was accustomed to at home. Maybe it was the fact that I was in Europe, or maybe it was that adorable little cafe, but that first sip made light bulbs flash in my head. It was as if my taste buds were waking up and I felt much like Edmund in the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when he first meets the Snow Queen:

“The Queen took from somewhere among her wrappings a very small bottle which looked as if it were made of copper. Then, holding out her arm, she let one drop fall from it on to the snow beside the sledge. Edmund saw the drop for a second in mid-air, shining like a diamond. But the moment it touched the snow there was a hissing sound and there stood a jeweled cup full of something that steamed. The Dwarf immediately took this and handed it to Edmund with a bow and a smile; not a very nice smile. Edmund felt much better as he began to sip the hot drink. It was something he had never tasted before, very sweet and foamy and creamy, and it warmed him right down to his toes.”

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: Collier Books, 1950.

I was shocked that something labeled as hot chocolate could be so mind-blowingly good. I slowly drained that cup and have since taken every opportunity given me to replicate that experience. When I moved to France I quickly discovered that French hot chocolate, or chocolat chaud, was just as fabulous and I drank more than my fair share of it during my stay. What is interesting to note is that chocolate had its beginnings in liquid form. With the weather being a bit chillier I thought it would be fun to take a little look into the liquid beginnings of my favorite “food group”. I’m always looking for ways to do my part to help support those fighting on the Chocolate Front, so pull up a chair and enjoy a few hot cuppas with me this week!

Once upon a time . . .
From the work done by archaeologists we are told that the Olmecs (the oldest civilization of the Americas, 1500-400 BC), were most likely the first users of cacao. The Olmecs were followed by the Maya who used cacao beans as a valuable currency and also brewed a drink from roasted cacao beans, water and a little spice, called “chocolatl”. It wasn’t until Cortes ventured to Mexico in the early 1500s that chocolate started to make its way to Europe (Cortes returned to Spain with his ships filled with cacao beans and chocolate drink making equipment).

Montezuma, Emperor of Mexico, introduced Cortes to “chocolatl”, which he drank from a golden goblet. In a letter to Charles V of Spain, Cortes wrote that chocolatl was the “divine drink which build up resistance and fights fatigue. A cup of this precious drink permits man to walk for a whole day without food.” From this point on, culinary and medicinal uses of chocolate spread throughout Europe. The first recipe for a chocolate drink was published in 1631 by Antonio Clmenero de Ledesma in Spain. The ingredients of the recipe were, “one hundred cocoa beans, two chillies, a handful of anise seed and two of vanilla (two pulverized Alexandria roses can be substituted), two drams of cinnamon, one dozen almonds and the same amount of hazelnuts, half a pound of white sugar and enough annatto to give some color.” Chocolate soon became a drink enjoyed by the rich in Spain and was given as a dowry. When Princess Maria Theresa became betrothed to Louis XIV she gave him chocolate as an engagement gift and chocolate drinking became the rage. In the mid 1600s the “Queen’s Lane Coffee House on High Street” in Oxford, England, began serving chocolate (and does to this day).
“Chocolate Houses” began popping up everywhere, but they began to disappear by the end of the 18th century. Thomas Jefferson was a great lover of hot chocolate. In 1785 he wrote a letter to John Adams which read, “The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain.”
Hot Cocoa v. Hot Chocolate
Although the terms hot cocoa and hot chocolate tend to be used interchangeably, they are technically two different drinks. Hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder (chocolate with cocoa butter removed) whereas hot chocolate is made from chocolate that is melted into cream. This week I’ll take a brief look at both. I believe I have a preference, but I’ll be testing that out this week. How about you? Which do you prefer? Do you have a favorite recipe? A favorite brand? A favorite cafe?

Sources
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cacao-02.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_chocolate
http://coffeetea.about.com/cs/chocolate/a/chochistory.htm
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/HotChocolate.htm