|
In the ancient world, the cocoa only particularly existed in its purest form and was known only for its immense medicinal value which is highly beneficial for human health. For many centuries, this pure form of the natural cocoa powder was particularly revered by all and very trusted for its beneficial use in cases like fever, heart pain, and emaciation, fatigue, kidney and bowel complaints and can be treated well in a natural way. There is historical evidence that points us to the ancient Mayan and Aztec civilizations who recorded their use of the organic cocoa powder for the various medicinal purposes for over two thousand years. More recently, man has particularly tarnished the cocoa’s healthy reputation by adding some emulsifying fats, sugars, milk, flavourings and preservatives, and introduced some processed cocoa to the world. But this was not true of cocoa in the ancient world. The growing of cocoa plants dates back to the 1500 BC when it was believed the Olmec Indians grew the cocoa beans as a domestic crop. At around 250 BC to 900 CE the drinking of an unsweetened cocoa drink was very much in trend or was highly prevalent, but only amongst the elite of the Mayan society. It was a sophisticated drink even in those days. When the Mayans migrated to the northern parts of South America, they took their cocoa beans with them. This drink was a big hit with the upper class Aztec Indians and they decided to make it their own, imposing a tax on the beans. The Aztecs were the first to call it xocalatl, which means the warm or bitter liquid. The famous explorers namely Columbus and Hernandez encountered the cocoa beans during their course of travels. The Mayan nobles gifted Prince Philip of Spain with many jars of the beaten cocoa, the pre-mixed and ready-to-drink. But neither Spain, nor Portugal shared this gift with the rest of Europe till a century later. In the 16th century, the Spanish began to add some amounts of sugar cane juice and vanilla flavouring to produce a sweetened cocoa drink, which was more palatable to the taste buds. Cocoa began to gain a very wide popularity as a medicinal drink and for its aphrodisiac value. The first cocoa shop in the grand city of London was set up in the year 1657. At this time, too, cocoa was considered a major beverage only for the elite of the society. It was only in the year 1730, when the price of the natural cocoa powder dropped and it became affordable to the common man and was highly adopted by the common man as well due to the cost-effectiveness of the same. After that, both the natural cocoa powder and organic cocoa powder are highly consumed by the millions of chocolate lovers across the globe due to the immense availability and the affordability as well. Russ Murray is the owner of this website and writes articles for his own website. For further details about natural cocoa powder and organic cocoa powder please visit the website
Related Articles -
natural cocoa powder, organic cocoa powder, organic cacao powder,
|
