Centuries of recorded history back up chocolate’s reputation for inducing swoons. The Mesoamerican societies discovered that the cacao (kah-KOW) trees pods contained edible ingredients.
As early as 1500 BC, the tree was known to grow wild in South America, and people were cultivating and eating the pulp that surrounded the cacao beans. We know that the pulp does not yield the chocolate, it is the pods bean that gives us the wonderful chocolate.
But far different from the creamy cocoa we dollop with cream, is the process thought to have been perfected by the Maya. They perfected the process of grinding the "beans" into a powder, which they combined with chilies, spices and water, to create a drink. It was either bittersweet or unsweetened (chocolate) and highly spiced and made with water not milk (milk-fat coats the tongue and masks the countless flavors that can be tasted in quality chocolate.)
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