Cacao is believed to have originated in South America.  There is a lot of evidence suggesting that the ancient Maya in Central America were the first to domesticate Theobroma cacao as a crop.

The Aztecs ground cacao into Xocoatl, a chocolate drink used mostly for spiritual and ceremonial rituals.

Hernan Cortés is credited with bringing cacao to Spain where it spread throughout Europe in the 1500’s and 1600’s.

Spanish friars began to grow cacao in Ecuador around 1635.  The French introduced cacao to Martinique and St Lucia, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil in the mid to late 1600’s.   England started growing it in Jamaica and the Dutch in Curaçao.  All of this effort just to meet the ever growing demand for the affluent in Europe.

When demand exploded again in the 1800’s even more had to be cultivated.  Cacao from Brazil was taken to Principe and Sao Tomé, islands off the coast of West Africa around 1830.  From there, it spread to Nigeria and Ghana.

Today, the largest cacao producing country is Ivory Coast, Africa.

Theobroma cacao, or the “chocolate tree,” has been used in folk medicine as an anticeptic, diurectic, and parasiticide.  It has been used to heal burns, cough, dry lips, fever, listlessness, malaria, nephrosis, rheumatism, snakebites, and small wounds.

The cacao tree was thought by the Aztecs to be a gift from their god Quetzalcoatl, which means “feathered serpent.”  The Aztecs would drink ground cacao in religious ceremonies to thank the gods for their generosity.  The drink was said to give feelings of euphoria and stamina.

When cacao beans were introduced to Europe, the stimulant effects (now known to be caffeine and theobromine) gave it the reputation as an aphrodisiac.  Europeans drank cacao more as a love potion than religious offering.

In Mayan times, incense consisting of cacao beans would be burned as an offering to the gods for safe travel and speedy return.

In ancient America, cacao was also used to try to cure malaria and other types of fever diseases by inhaling the smoke during healing rituals. 

Today, we hear chocolate is rich in “flavanoids,” “anti-oxidants,” and phenylethylamine (PEA).  The science and benefits seem to change over the years, but chocolate has always been seen as good for us.