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Bibliography

Blog 1:

Photo: https://unframed.lacma.org/2016/10/27/chocolate-food-gods-maya-artE. 

O'Neil, M., 2020. Chocolate, Food Of The Gods, In Maya Art | Unframed. [online] Unframed.lacma.org.<https://unframed.lacma.org/2016/10/27/chocolate-food-gods-maya-art> [Accessed 21 December 2020].

Blog 2:

Photo: New York State Archives, NYSA_A3045-78_3105

Cartwright, Mark. "The Aztec Calendar." Ancient History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 25, 2016. https://www.ancient.eu/article/896/.

Norton, Marcy. "Conquests of Chocolate." OAH Magazine of History 18, no. 3 (2004): 14-17. Accessed December 9, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163677.

Blog 3:

Photo: https://tosier.co.uk/blog/coffee-trip

Norton, Marcy. "Tasting Empire: Chocolate and the European Internalization of Mesoamerican Aesthetics." The American Historical Review 111, no. 3 (2006): 660-91. Accessed December 11, 2020. doi:10.1086/ahr.111.3.660.

Blog 4:

Photo: https://www.freetheslaves.net/caribbean-home-to-new-trans-atlantic-slave-trade/

Ferry, Robert J. "Encomienda, African Slavery, and Agriculture in Seventeenth-Century Caracas." The Hispanic American Historical Review 61, no. 4 (1981): 609-35. Accessed December 20, 2020. doi:10.2307/2514606.

Blog 5: 

Photo: https://www.oldest.org/food/candy-bars/attachment/frys-chocolate-cream/

Norton, Marcy. "Tasting Empire: Chocolate and the European Internalization of Mesoamerican Aesthetics." The American Historical Review 111, no. 3 (2006): 660-91. Accessed December 11, 2020. doi:10.1086/ahr.111.3.660.

Blog 6:

Photo: National Geographic Maps

Coe, Sophie D. and Michael D. Coe. 2013. The True History of Chocolate. 3nd edition. London: Thames & Hudson.

Blog 7:

Photo: TheNiftyFifties

Edgar, Blake. "The Power of Chocolate." Archaeology 63, no. 6 (2010): 20-25. Accessed December 15, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41780626.

Blog 8:

Photo: wilderutopia

Schrage, Elliot J., and Anthony P. Ewing. "The Cocoa Industry and Child Labour." The Journal of Corporate Citizenship, no. 18 (2005): 99-112. Accessed December 18, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jcorpciti.18.99.

Blog 9:

Photo: English Heritage 

Loveman, Kate. "The Introduction of Chocolate into England: Retailers, Researchers, and Consumers, 1640-1730." Journal of Social History 47, no. 1 (2013): 27-46. Accessed December 8, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43306044.

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How to Make Chocolate Pudding - The Victorian Way Chances are that if you are a fan of chocolate, you probably enjoy chocolate pudding as well. It is one of the most traded treats during elementary school lunches and enjoyed by children and adults alike. What is interesting is that chocolate pudding has been around for a long time. The Audley End House and Gardens in Essex in England has a Youtube channel with English Heritage which posts videos on how Victorians made food during the 17th century. Their main goal is to provide an insight into how the Victorians lived, from the cooks to the servants to the Lord and Lady of the House itself. They get this information a variety of historians including food historians. Throughout the blogs, we have learned how the origins of chocolate began, how it made its way to Africa and what the world of chocolate is like today. We have explored with the early Mesoamericans and learned how they cultivated the cacao bean pods and made rich drinks from them. We have travelled with the cacao bean across the oceans and witnessed the great inventions of the Industrial Revolution. As we end our journey with cacao, we set our sights on England in the 17th century to learn about a recipe for steamed chocolate pudding. This is no ordinary pudding as it is not the creamy texture we are familiar with today. The chocolate pudding we are learning about is similar to a chocolate bundt cake, but the English fondly refer to it as pudding. In this final blog, we are going to learn about how the Europeans viewed chocolate, who made this chocolate pudding recipe, and how the chocolate dish was enjoyed by class distinction.

The cacao bean traveled from the Americas and was exported to Europe. England enjoyed many of the goods coming from its former colony and chocolate was one of them. At the arrival of chocolate, it was regarded as something only the wealthiest could have. The social hierarchy held the same regards that the Mesoamericans did towards chocolate and that is that only the elite should consume it. In the journal article “The Introduction of Chocolate to England: Retailers, Researchers, and Consumers, 1640-1730” by Kate Loveman, Loveman notes that when chocolate was being introduced to England, it was marketed as being exotic and something that resonates with “leisure and decadence” which correlates to how the Mesoamericans felt. This is important to note with the recipe as the creator of the recipe is making a chocolate dessert for her employers who are extremely wealthy. This chocolate recipe ties into the artisocratric nature of how chocolate was consumed in England during that time and how the English viewed chocolate.

The recipe is made by Avis Crocombe. She was the head cook at the Audley End House and had a variety of servants and workers under her. She had many recipes which she kept in a journal, one of which being the chocolate pudding recipe. In the video on the English Heritage channel, she states that the chocolate pudding she made would not be given to Lord and Lady Braybrooke (her employers), but would be suitable for the staff. The pudding for the Lord’s has to be more delicate and much more aesthetically pleasing. There are certain plating used for serving, certain forks and spoons as well. There are certain dishes, such as this chocolate pudding, that require the food to be used in a certain molding dish. For example, the chocolate pudding from the video was made in a plain bowl which is acceptable for the servants. For Lord and Lady Braybrooke, their pudding would be formed in a special mold that had intricate designs which would then give the pudding a fancy design as well. From this we can see the class distinction very clearly. This is often the case for food being prepared at that time and especially in a Jacobean house for the wealthy. Cacao may originate in the Americas but it has impacted the world with its versatility, taste and many of the different recipes that can be created around it. This steamed chocolate pudding recipe is but one of the different cultural spins that chocolate makes in each country. Avis Crocombe provided historians and foodies with a knowledge look into what cooking was like in the 17th century and how chocolate was enjoyed just as we enjoy it today. It is thanks to her that people today can experience what is was like to cook food during that century, but also to try it out for themselves and see what people from almost two hundred years ago were enjoying. It is quite enjoyable to see this treat come such a long way. Although it differs from what Americans expect chocolate pudding to look like, it still looks like fun to try and make.

INGREDIENTS 225g chocolate 150g breadcrumbs 1/2 pint milk 150g butter 120g caster sugar 3 eggs

METHOD Melt the butter and chocolate together, and then add the breadcrumbs and the milk. Keep stirring it over the heat until it becomes thick. Separate the eggs and cook up the yolks with the sugar, then combine this with your chocolate mix. Whisk your egg whites and then fold them into your chocolate batter. Line a pudding bowl with butter, and pour in your mixture. Add a circle of baking paper on top, and secure some cloth over the top using twine. You can bring up the edges and tie them into a handle. Place it into a pan and fill with water until it reaches halfway up the bowl. Steam for about an hour.

Loveman, Kate. "The Introduction of Chocolate into England: Retailers, Researchers, and Consumers, 1640-1730." Journal of Social History 47, no. 1 (2013): 27-46. Accessed December 8, 2020. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43306044.

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Chocolate Futures

Chocolate has come a long way since it was first discovered in Mesoamerica. It has been transformed from a beverage enjoyed by the Aztecs to a rich, tasty treat enjoyed worldwide. From the course and these blogs, we have gone along for the journey of chocolate and are now looking towards its future. Today, there is an increased demand for chocolate. With this comes to labor that is needed to produce it. In the global north, we hardly ever think about who makes our chocolate. We do not put a name and face on our Twix bar; we do not ask who made this. Chocolate is still mostly harvested and produced in Latin America and Africa, with big companies using these farms. Unfortunately, within these countries, there is exploitation and the use of child labor. The introduction of fair trade is meant to provide is to provide the workers with fair prices paid to them. While the system is not always perfect, it does provide consumers the ability to be conscious of where their money is going and who it is supporting. This blog is going to examine the child labor used in plantations in West Africa as well as understand what fair trade is and its impact on chocolate. Chocolate needs to be humanized. Almost all of us enjoy chocolate and never wonder where it came from. Unlike major movements such as PETA and going vegan, which garners a lot of attention, chocolate relatively flies under the radar. Most people would say the only bad thing about chocolate is that it has dairy in it, so naturally they feel bad for the cows who had to make it and those who are lactose intolerant who have to pay a price for consuming it. No one thinks of the Ivory Coast of Africa where young boys are sold into indentured servitude to work on the chocolate plantations. We hardly think of the twelve-year-old boys making maybe $135 U.S. dollars a year for their labor if that. In the article, “The Cocoa Industry and Child Labour”, authors Elliot J. Schrage and Anthony P. Ewing discuss the use of Malian children being sold to work on Ivorian cocoa and coffee plantations in 2001. They also uncover that some of these children are sold by their own parents to the farmers, which is absolutely devastating. When reports broke out about child labor, the United Kingdom demanded that the Ivorian government create statutes and laws prohibiting the use of child labor. Tasks forces were created to investigate the issue further and big companies were forced to reflect and reassess their cocoa production practices. A concept called fair trade is used by companies in well-developed countries to pay farmers and workers in undeveloped countries their fair share for the products they create. This concept applies to chocolate as well. In fact, there are quite a few chocolate companies that utilize this practice, including well-known ones such as KIND, Kirkland, and Trader Joe's. Companies such as these ones allow for customers to be conscious of where their money is going. This is important as the farmers and workers in undeveloped countries who work day and night making these treats need to be paid their fair share. This can then spread to all of the purchases people make, not just chocolate. Fairtrade with chocolate provides customers the ability to cut through big companies with shady practices and give their financial support to smaller companies that work directly with the farmers and workers.

photo: wilderutopia

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Chocolate In Modern Times - Women in Chocolate Advertisements

The Mesoamericans, the originators of chocolate were the first to link chocolate and women together as an inseparable correlation. According to the article from Edgar Blake titled “The Power of Chocolate”, the Aztecs used to drink a cacao beverage in order to have “success with a woman” which has been the ideology with women and chocolate to this day. While women have lusted over, chocolate has been lusted over as well so it only seems fitting to put them in advertisements together. Although they are many different chocolate advertisements all varying on their goal to attract the consumer, there are two interesting types of ads that this blog is going to discuss. One is how chocolate represents a women’s role in society and the other is how the ads have changed over the years. Some of the first advertisements for chocolate have women present. They would be placed staring at the consumer or off to the side with just the slightest bit of shoulders showing. There was not much of a personality present with the woman. She always looks either bored or uninterested in whatever is taking place. At this time in history, women had very little freedom which is reflected in the ad. This was done to entice the consumer that they wanted the product. The woman always looked rich and elegant, similar to the chocolate that was placed next to them. The woman had this luxurious look to her to remind the consumer that the chocolate being advertised was just as rich and luxurious as her. It was to remind them that chocolate was for the upper class and elite; they could never have that gorgeous woman nor the delicious chocolate. That reverse sociology makes people want it more, so they can show off to others that they can afford such a luxurious item. As women were pushed more into the housewife role of the nuclear family of the 1940s and 50s, the chocolate ads reflected this. Women in ads would be dressed like a proper wife with their kitchen apron on. This shows the viewer how domesticated the women of that time should be. She should be in the kitchen cooking dinner for her husband and kids. Every once and awhile she should be rewarded with some chocolate for her hard work as the proper housewife. As time went on, women started getting into more and more provocative chocolate ads. Ads in the 2000s show more suggestive ads which reflected the time. Women would be eating chocolate with a blissful look on their face, sometimes they would have chocolate placed on their chest as well. From this, we can see that although women had more freedom, they were still being sexualized with chocolate.

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Global Production of Chocolate - How Latin America Lost the Chocolate War to Africa

While chocolate was becoming ever more popular around the world, the countries that were harvesting the chocolate were facing their own unrest. Both Latin America and Africa were undergoing challenges within their region which impacted cacao production. For this blog, I would like to focus on the unrest going on within Latin America. This is not to downplay the role Africa plays in global chocolate production, but being that cacao originates in Latin America, I would prefer to keep linear and stay focused on Latin America. Latin America was the originator of cacao, as we have learned throughout this course and hopefully these blogs as well. Another contender was gearing up to produce cacao and that was Africa. If we recall, the biology of the cacao tree needs to be grown in warm climates relatively close to the equator. If Latin America could no longer keep up with the demand for cacao production, and if the region was undergoing some changes, then cacao investors needed to look elsewhere for production, hence the move to Africa. So other than the global demand for cacao increasing, what else caused Latin America to lose its chocolate crown? Increase demand for chocolate, civil unrest in the region, and the abolishment of slavery are why Latin America could no longer be the only source sustaining the production of chocolate. In Latin America, there was a period of decolonization; wars for independence, and civil unrest. Nations that were once controlled by Spain and other European countries demanded they get their independence. Nearly all of them were successful in their cause except for Puerto Rico and Cuba. In addition, wars had made the region politically unstable and countries were left in disarray. How could countries focus on producing cacao when they were undergoing wars? In hindsight, we can see that financially cacao productions might have been helpful for the region (in terms of recovery) but at the time the main focus was on the wars. There was also the issue of slavery being abolished. We can all unanimously agree that abolishing slavery is favored; however, it did leave behind a major shortage of workers. Being that the workers were slaves, the form of cheap labor was no longer there; cacao owners would now have to pay people for their labor. This increased the pricing of chocolate which was not favorable for the Latin American growers. This was more favorable for the growers in Africa as they had the labor needed for lower prices. They also had more workers who could keep up with the demand for chocolate and since it was being produced through slave labor, the prices remained at a reasonable price for the buyer. This is essentially how Latin America lost its lead in being the chocolate producer of the world to Africa.

photo from National Geographic 

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Chocolate Industrial Revolution 

When the Europeans appropriated chocolate from the Americas, they kept many of the central ideas about chocolate. It was still a luxurious drink and separated the classes on who could consume it. The Europeans also kept the same methods of cacao being transformed into chocolate, such as fermenting, roasting, and grinding the cacao beans. Once the industrial revolution started taking place, chocolate production took off with it. The previous long and laborious process was now expedited to a much faster means of production. Machines helped with grinding and steaming the beans, something that previously had to be done by human hands. Though chocolate was now being mechanized, it was still produced by artisans in small workshops. The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain and spread to North America and beyond. While Great Britain specialized in the machine goods it was producing, other places such as Latin America, were responsible for the production of the raw materials that Great Britain needed. While the machines in Great Britain made the lives of workers easier, the intense labor needed to produce the raw goods took a physical toll on the workers in Latin America. They did not have the same mechanical advantage that Great Britain had. This trading system between Great Britain and Latin America was called the import/export model as the goods were exchanged between them. The machines in Europe allowed for new production methods to take place with cacao, for example, a Dutchman named Conrad van Houten created a machine that could remove the fatty content from the roasted cacao bean; roughly 27% of fatty content was left. By doing so, he called for the chocolate to then be crushed which resulted in a powder. This became known as Dutching; this explains the origins of how chocolate milk at home is made. Others followed suit creating their machines capable of creating new forms of chocolate such as the chocolate bar created by Joseph Fry in the 1720s. World-renowned chocolate marker Nestle was the one who created the first milk chocolate bar; one that would not go rancid had a longer shelf life and would not cause the chocolate to separate and disintegrate. Machines helped transform the cacao bean and its means of production into a more modern approach. In addition, the demand for chocolate increased as chocolate became more available for the public. With the Industrial Revolution came the increase in money for the household; consuming chocolate was no longer just a luxury that the wealthy could afford. Its taste shifted to a more European palate and the quality of it improved as well. The old ways by hand were no longer needed. The Industrial Revolution made the everyday lives of people much easier, and it also provided new technologies that proved to be extremely beneficial to cacao. It helped transform cacao to chocolate and chocolate to the chocolate bar. It helped modernize the cacao bean into something we all know and love today.

photo from: oldest.org

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Cacao Production - Transatlantic Slave Trade 

In order to harvest cacao, an abundance of manpower was needed. Following the Capitalism model, this cash crop needed a cheap labor system for the rich to consume cacao and get wealthy off of it. It is interesting to see how this system of forced labor was one of the ways European countries kept their economy afloat. Ideally, it would seem logical to assume the Natives would continue to harvest and produce the money crop; however, that was not the case. The Natives fell victim to the diseases that the Europeans brought which greatly reduced their population. The harsh labor practices that they had to endure by the hands of the Europeans also took a physical toll on them; sometimes this left them unfit to continue working. Also, the Natives knew their land very well, as it rightfully belonged to them, so they knew how to navigate the land to escape. A new form of human labor would be introduced which was slave labor. Slave labor was used amongst the Natives by the Europeans, but this new form of slave labor came from across the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa. Captured Africans were brought over to the Americas via the Middle passage. This passage consisted of a trade route that went between the west coast of Africa to the east coast of North America and the Caribbean islands which would then connect to Europe. Essentially the route took the shape of a triangle to connect all these central trade hubs. This followed the saying of, “follow the equator and you will find cacao” because if one were to look at a map of the world, they would see that the equator goes right through South America and Africa. What is so unfortunate is that what we know of today as a sweet treat has a truly horrific past. The transatlantic slave trade was a long event which brought captured Africans over to the Americas and sometimes Europe, to use them for forced labor. The ships often stacked the Africans right on top of each other which spread diseases and illnesses. The condition of the ships was brutal and sadly there were instances where slaves would jump overboard to take their own life just to get away from the brutal life they knew. Mortality rates on the ships were around 50%. This meant that more slaves were constantly needed. Unfortunately, this means that the chocolate we know and love not only came from the Mesoamericans (who had their land and lives stripped away) but also involved forced labor from Natives and Africans. Essentially, chocolate has blood on its hands. Africans were brought over through the Atlantic to help with the producing and harvesting of cacao in both the Caribbean islands as well as South America. They had to learn Spanish as well as Portuguese to communicate and be effective workers. Although slave labor was used for various other goods, its role in the production of cacao is important. It provides a means to discuss what the slave trade was and how Europeans and eventually the rest of the world, benefited from it.

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Chocolate Consumption 

When the Europeans first encountered chocolate, they did not see the appeal. According to one source, they found a chocolate drink to be “fit for pigs” and that the foam layer on top “bubbled like feces”. Oh, how times have changed. Now Europeans love chocolate. The Swiss are even famous for their chocolate. Germans are known for their chocolate as well. It is interesting to see these European countries clamor to have the best chocolate in Europe when chocolate does not originate from there. It is yet another example of Europeans taking from the Americas and bringing it back to the Old World. In the New World, the cacao and what could be made from it was very special and important; as previous blogs have noted, it was part of Mesoamerican culture. The upper echelons to the lower, poorer class people all enjoyed cacao (not as often for the lower class but it was still present in their lives). The Mesoamericans enjoyed the chocolate beverage bitter which was too harsh for the European palate. When the explorers of the New World went back to Europe, they brought with them many valuable things: gold, silver, and cacao. Despite turning their nose to it originally, cacao grew on the explorers so they brought it back to their lands. The Europeans added their spin on the cacao beverages by adding sugar or honey to make the drink sweeter, therefore much more tolerable for them. Once the beverage made its mark on the Europeans, they followed the Mesoamericans idea that the drink should be enjoyed by those in wealth and power. They made “chocolate rooms” which was meant to serve guests the chocolate drink. This was done to impress their guest, one could argue it was also done to seem more wealthy as getting the cacao bean imported must have been expensive. Following the Mesoamericans even further, the Spanish royal court even incorporated the cacao beverage as part of their ceremonies. It is very interesting to see how the cacao bean went from being looked down upon to then being included in royal ceremonies oceans away from its home. The Europeans seemed to deem the bean and drink worthy which is why it spread so far into other nations. One can argue who was the real conqueror? The Spanish may have plundered the Americas but it was the Mesoamericans who conquered the Spanish tongue forever. It was the Natives who created something ‘worthy’ of being brought to Europe. The Natives are the ones who had the real valuables compared to the Spanish as they conquered their palate.

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Chocolate Encounters 

Before understanding cacao and its importance to the Aztec culture, one must have an understanding of the Aztecs themselves. The term ‘Aztec’ is not what the ancient people of Mesoamerica called themselves. The land that they lived in was called Azlan, which eventually was adopting by researchers and colonizers as a way to speak of these people thus forming the Aztecs. It is also worth noting that the ‘Aztec Empire’ was not one giant landmass, but rather was a loose alliance between three cities, which was very common back then and frequently fluctuated due to internal conflict. The three cities are Tenochtitlan as the de facto capital, Texcoco and Tlacopan. The Aztec practiced polytheism which is the worshipping of multiple gods. This became more apparent when the Calendar Stone was found in Mexico during the 1700s. The depiction on the Calendar Stone provided more historical context for understanding the Aztecs and their belief system as well; ultimately this helps us understand their relation to cacao. 

The Calendar Stone contained many important elements of Aztec culture such as the earth god and the five historical eras. The historical eras are times in which the Aztec people lived and what great fate they would await. The fate of what would happen to them and their world would be depicted on the stone as either a great fire, earthquake, hurricane, etc. The main idea is that the stone predicted each era would perish through a climatic event. The center of the stone contained the earth god with his tongue sticking out and claws coming out of his ears. The tongue is a blade or knife and he is meant to be flicking it in a threatening manner which was the symbol for war in the Aztec writing system. The claws coming out of his ears are gripping humans' hearts and squeezing them. This most likely alludes to the thirst for human blood that was common in Aztec culture. The depiction of this is important because it involves the human sacrifice aspect of Aztec culture and beliefs. While it is commonly known in academia that Aztecs as well as other Mesoamericans practiced human sacrifice, it is very interesting and insightful to see it being displayed in a calendar stone. From this, we can see how important that aspect was to the Aztecs.

As well as wanting blood for human sacrifices, the desire for blood also meant that the god was sanctioning warfare. Aztecs are well known for their warrior culture which has given them their notorious reputation throughout history. This stone provides some very insightful context clues about the Aztec society, culture, and belief system. From this, one can gather how cacao might relate to all of this. It relates because cacao was a central part of Aztec culture. It might not be depicted on the stone itself but it was a central part of their society. They consumed it throughout all of these events so from this we can see that cacao is extremely important. It helped keep the Aztec society flowing.

Lastly, through the Calendar Stone, Europeans were able to have an understanding of how important cacao was to the Aztec society. Since it was a part of their intricate calendar, they could assume the meaning was pivotal. When they ventured to the Americas, they assumed the Aztecs would be savages, but upon seeing the sophistication of their culture they gained a better understanding of the Aztecs. Whether this caused them to respect or admire them more is debatable, but we can see that there is a level of trust in regards to cacao. Since the Aztecs regarded cacao as something very important, the Europeans gave cacao that same respect which is why it made its way over to Europe.

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Cacao Origin

The origin of chocolate dates back to around 2000 years ago in Mesoamerica. The etymology of the word goes back to the Aztec word ‘xocoatl’ which was the first word for chocolate. Chocolate derives from the cocoa bean plant, better known as the cacao tree. The scientific name for the tree is the Theobroma tree. The name theobroma can be translated into “food of the gods”, a very fitting name for this notoriously popular treat. This tree originates in the Amazon basin and made its way to Mexico by the Olmecs who domesticated it. The tree requires very special care. For it to produce the best cacao seeds, it must be tended by individuals who understand the special undertakings needed for the tree to thrive. The tree must be in the shade of another tree, preferably one that is taller than it. The cacao tree can usually be found growing next to the banana tree as it is another Latin American tree, and it is taller than the cacao tree. Ideally, the tree grows best in the tropics towards the equator for a warmer, more humid environment. Though the tree produces podlike shaped beans, only a few of them are viable for usage. Only about twenty to thirty pods per year make roughly one pound of chocolate. There are about thirty to fifty seeds per pod which are chocolate in its rawest form. Even today the process to make chocolate turns into the food we all love takes a long time. The fact that the people of Mesoamerica were able to understand this process and make their delicacies from that is truly incredible. It is proof that the Aztecs were way ahead of their time. The Aztecs always knew chocolate was a highly valuable commodity and limited to socio-economic groups of consumption. It was a delicacy among the Aztec peoples; the rich were the most prominent groups to enjoy it. The lower class were allowed to enjoy chocolate as well, but it had to be for a special occasion. This helped keep the delicacy and exclusiveness for the chocolate. Cacao was also a part of Mesoamerican culture. It is shown among paintings of the gods the people worshipped, sometimes even as a source of life. In the painting depicted above, the cacao tree is shown being born. We can see the God of Abundance there as well. It is thought that the God of Abundance is connected to the tree as he is seen pointing towards it. This is because some ancient people believed that the tree is what separated the earth from the sky. It is also referenced as being the source of life in most creation stories; for the Aztecs, this was no different. The cacao tree can be seen in paintings and murals with the Aztecs worshipping it as a sacred tree especially in cacao tree regions. It is interesting to see where this beloved treat gets its origin.