The journey begins

Xocolatl was the Aztecs' word for “chocolate.” They called it the “bitter drink” and considered it a gift from the gods.

The cocoa bean has been cultivated for the last one thousand years and was recorded as early as 2000 B.C.

Cocoa was first introduced to Europe when Cortés brought the beans to Spain in the early 1500s. When cinnamon and sugar were added, the bitter taste was improved.

The discovery of cocoa by the Spaniards was so provocative that they kept its existence a secret for almost a century, until it was smuggled by monks to France. By the 1650s it had crossed the channel to England and the North American colonies of the English and the Dutch.