The Spanish introduced new ingredients to the Aztecs’ chocolate drink, such as sugar and cinnamon, and changed the way it was served.
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The Spanish people had a significant impact on the Aztecs’ chocolate drink. According to historian Marcy Norton, “Spanish colonialism transformed a bitter Mesoamerican drink into a sweet European confection, altering its recipe, change of ingredients, taste, uses, and cultural meanings.”
Here are some interesting facts about the Aztecs’ chocolate drink and its transformation by the Spanish:
The Aztecs considered chocolate to be a sacred drink that was associated with fertility, power, and privilege. It was often consumed by royalty and elite members of society during important ceremonies.
The original Aztec chocolate drink was made from ground cocoa beans mixed with water and spices such as chilies, vanilla, and achiote.
When the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, they quickly developed a taste for the Aztecs’ chocolate drink. However, they found it too bitter and added sugar to make it more palatable.
The Spanish also introduced new spices to the chocolate drink, such as cinnamon and nutmeg, which became popular ingredients in European chocolate recipes.
The Spanish method of preparing chocolate involved frothing the drink with a wooden implement called a molinillo. This technique created a frothy, airy texture that was not present in the Aztecs’ original drink.
As the popularity of chocolate spread throughout Europe, it became associated with luxury, sophistication, and refinement. This new cultural meaning was very different from the Aztecs’ spiritual and cultural associations with the drink.
Here is a table summarizing the differences between the Aztecs’ chocolate drink and the Spanish version:
Isaias Mendoza and his wife Isabel are reviving ancient Mayan traditions centered around the use of cacao through their Mayan fire ceremony. Despite the sidelining of indigenous traditions surrounding cacao, Isaias has built a successful business processing and selling cacao through his company Lava Love, employing around 20 people, some of whom are indigenous women. Keith Wilson has also popularized cacao ceremonies in San Marcos, but some criticize the trend as cultural appropriation. Nevertheless, both figures aim to share the sacredness of cacao with people while remaining mindful of the plant’s origins.
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The Spanish were said to have hybridized the drink of chocolate, drinking it hot instead of cold as the Aztecs did, sweetening it with sugar, and putting Old World spices such as cinnamon and vanilla into the drink (Norton, 2006).
But attitudes changed rapidly when Hernán Cortés returned to Spain from his bloody conquest of Mexico in 1521. He presented the Aztec drink made from cacao beans to King Charles V. Adjustments to the recipe were made, sugar was added, and chocolate soon became popular among the higher echelons of Spanish society.
But attitudes changed rapidly when Hernán Cortés returned to Spain from his bloody conquest of Mexico in 1521. He presented the Aztec drink made from cacao beans to King Charles V. Adjustments to the recipe were made, sugar was added, and chocolate soon became popular among the higher echelons of Spanish society.
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How was the way Europeans drank chocolate different from the way the Aztec did?
Answer: With the high demand for chocolate came chocolate plantations, which were worked by thousands of enslaved people. But European palates weren’t satisfied with the traditional Aztec chocolate drink recipe. They made their own varieties of hot chocolate with cane sugar, cinnamon and other common spices and flavorings.
How did the Spanish make the bitter cocoa drink tastier?
Specifically, the Spaniards added sugar and spices such as cinnamon, anise, and black pepper (Miller). These more familiar ingredients were likely added to make the chocolate drink more appealing to the palates of the Europeans at the time.
How did Europeans change the chocolate drink of the Aztec when it was taken back to Spain?
But attitudes changed rapidly when Hernán Cortés returned to Spain from his bloody conquest of Mexico in 1521. He presented the Aztec drink made from cacao beans to King Charles V. Adjustments to the recipe were made, sugar was added, and chocolate soon became popular among the higher echelons of Spanish society.
How did the Spanish in Mexico develop a taste for chocolate?
Cortez was warmly invited into the Aztec dinners, where they would give him their favorite drink, the spicy warm (but bitter) chocolate. Cortez began to realize the great importance that the Aztecs placed on chocolate. During this time they even used cocoa beans as money!
Why did the Aztecs drink xocolatl?
The reply will be: Aztec chocolate, which they called xocolatl, was mostly an upper-class extravagance, although the lower classes enjoyed it occasionally at weddings or other celebrations. Perhaps the most notorious Aztec chocolate lover of all was the Aztec ruler Montezuma II who allegedly drank gallons of xocolatl each day for energy and as an aphrodisiac.
How did the Aztecs get cacao?
Response will be: According to one of their myths, the Aztec received cacao when Quetzalcoatl descended from heaven on the beam of a morning star, carrying a cacao tree stolen from paradise. The Aztec, in turn, made offerings of cacao beans to their gods and used the chocolate drink — which they called cacahuatl, for "cacao water" — as a ceremonial beverage.
Did the Spanish keep chocolate from the rest of Europe?
Response: The Spanish nobility quickly took to this new and exciting beverage, as did Catholic priests in Spain, who used the high-energy drink to sustain themselves during religious fasts. But it seems the Spanish wanted to keep the chocolate discovery from the rest of Europe.
How did cocoa become popular in the 16th century?
Response to this: Demand for cocoa significantly increased in the mid-16th century and the product flowed into Spanish seaports from where it spread to the rest of Europe. New food and drink in this era was usually consumed first by the upper classes, before gradually making their way to the lower classes through imitation.
Why did the Aztecs drink xocolatl?
Aztec chocolate, which they called xocolatl, was mostly an upper-class extravagance, although the lower classes enjoyed it occasionally at weddings or other celebrations. Perhaps the most notorious Aztec chocolate lover of all was the Aztec ruler Montezuma II who allegedly drank gallons of xocolatl each day for energy and as an aphrodisiac.
How did the Aztecs get cacao?
According to one of their myths, the Aztec received cacao when Quetzalcoatl descended from heaven on the beam of a morning star, carrying a cacao tree stolen from paradise. The Aztec, in turn, made offerings of cacao beans to their gods and used the chocolate drink — which they called cacahuatl, for "cacao water" — as a ceremonial beverage.
Did the Spanish keep chocolate from the rest of Europe?
The answer is: The Spanish nobility quickly took to this new and exciting beverage, as did Catholic priests in Spain, who used the high-energy drink to sustain themselves during religious fasts. But it seems the Spanish wanted to keep the chocolate discovery from the rest of Europe.
What is the Aztec drink chocolatl?
Answer will be: In Mexico, the Aztec drink chocolatl was taken from its Aztec ceremonial use and retained by the Spanish as a tasty beverage and as a medicine. By the late 1600’s, the grand ladies of the land had become so fond of this frothy beverage that they were accustomed to having it served to them frequently, even in church.
