The appeal of chocolate . . . worldwide
\u00a9 Viennetta\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

Cultural Traditions of a World Favorite: The Cocoa Bean<\/h2>\n

There is nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate.<\/em>\u2014Linda Grayson<\/p>\n

Chocolate is high on the favorite list of many people. It soothes stress, is a weapon against depression, heightens awareness, elevates mood, and rouses passion. It is the choice of many as the answer to \u201cWhat one thing you would take with you if stranded on a desert island?\u201d<\/p>\n

The art of chocolate (artisanal pieces from Jos\u00e9phine Vannier in Paris)
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

However, we rarely stop to think about the labor-intensive international process that brings chocolate to our ready-and-willing taste buds. And few of us know about its 4000-year-old dramatic history and the legacy of its cultural traditions.<\/p>\n

So, here are some \u201cOh, I see\u201d<\/strong>chocolate moments. Grab a piece of chocolate or a cup of hot cocoa and dive into these ten fun facts about chocolate.<\/p>\n

The presence of the cocoa bean in an Aztec-inspired art piece.
\u00a9 Gerasimov Sergey\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

1. \u201cAn Olmec, a Mayan, and an Aztec walked into a bar . . .\u201d<\/h4>\n

The history of chocolate began with the creation of a hot cocoa drink in the pre-Olmec era of Mexico (around 2000 BC).<\/p>\n

In Mexico, Central America, and South America, the Mayans (around 800 AD) and the Aztecs (in the 1400s) also developed a taste for the cocoa drink\u2014spicy and hot. And, in the Aztec culture, sometimes they mixed in a bit of human blood.<\/p>\n

In fact, rumor has it that the Aztec emperor Montezuma II drank more than 50 cups of chocolate a day.<\/p>\n

Foam was de rigueur, so connoisseurs blew air into their cups of cocoa.
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins from the Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat<\/p><\/div>\n

2. \u201cI\u2019ll Have Mine with Double Foam, Please.\u201d<\/h4>\n

The Mayans and the Aztecs preferred lots of foam with their cocoa drink. To make sure that foam took priority, they blew air into the drink or poured the drink from an elevated vessel to a receptor below.<\/p>\n

Great heights create great foam.
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins from the Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat<\/p><\/div>\n

3. The Rise of Bean Counters<\/h4>\n

Both the Mayans and Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency. For example, in 1545, one bean could buy one large tomato or five green peppers. A rabbit, on the other hand, cost a steep ten beans.<\/p>\n

How many cocoa beans does it take to buy a rabbit?
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins from the Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat<\/p><\/div>\n

4. Jumping on the Cocoa Wagon<\/h4>\n

Spanish conquistador Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s learned to love drinking cocoa at Aztec receptions, as he began to colonize Mexico in the name of Spain.<\/p>\n

Before going on to conquer the Aztec Empire, he wrote to Charles the Fifth (in 1520), \u201cCocoa beans are like almonds. The Indians use them as currency and as a drink which makes the body stronger and fends off fatigue.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

When the Spanish added sugar to hot cocoa, its popularity across Europe skyrocketed.
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins from the Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat<\/p><\/div>\n

5.\u00a0A Well-kept Secret<\/h4>\n

The Spanish guarded the secret of the cocoa drink in Mexico. It wasn\u2019t until 1528 that Cort\u00e9s brought cocoa beans back to Spain and 1580 when it became popular (with added sugar to sweeten the experience).<\/p>\n

Would Anne of Austria have ever envisioned a chocolate Arc de Triomphe?
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins from the Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat<\/p><\/div>\n

6. A Perk of Marriage<\/h4>\n

Anne of Austria, daughter of Philip III, King of Spain, married Louis XIII and brought the chocolate drink to France in the early 1600s. Soon, the chocolate habit spread to the royal courts of Europe.<\/p>\n

As famous letter writer and French aristocrat, Madame de S\u00e9vign\u00e9, said in a 1672 letter to her daughter: \u201cTake chocolate in order that even the most tiresome company seems acceptable to you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Words to live by.<\/p>\n

Cocoa beans come primarily from Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast Asia.
\u00a9 Al-Travelpicture\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

7. In Search of the Perfect Chocolate<\/h4>\n

Even though cocoa was discovered (and revered) in the Americas, most cocoa now comes from Africa, with about one third coming from the Ivory Coast. Ghana and Indonesia are in 2^{nd<\/sup>and 3rd<\/sup>place.<\/p>\n}

Just as wine is influenced by the terroir of the grapes (soil, climate, and sunshine), such is the case with chocolate. The type of cocoa bean is also important.<\/p>\n

Criollo<\/em> is the most aromatic and comes from Mexico, Madagascar, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Forastero<\/em> is a more bitter, rougher cocoa and comes from Brazil, Malaysia, and West Africa. This variety accounts for almost 80% of the world\u2019s chocolate. Trinitario<\/em> is found everywhere in the growing zone and combines the best of the two other varieties.<\/p>\n

The cocoa bean tree\u2014Theobroma cacao (food of the gods).
\u00a9 Best for Best\/iStock<\/p><\/div>\n

8. From Bean to Mouth<\/h4>\n

It was only in the 19^{th<\/sup>century that chocolate was produced in solid form so that it could be eaten rather than drunk. Whether cocoa or solid chocolate, the process from bean to finished product is labor intensive.<\/p>\n}

The pods are harvested by hand, and the beans are removed, fermented, dried, winnowed, roasted, and ground.<\/p>\n

It takes about 400 beans to make a single pound of chocolate. Or, put in a different context, it takes a cocoa tree about a year to produce the pods needed to make 10 chocolate bars (according to Sherry-Marie Perguson\u2019s And Then God Made Chocolate!<\/em>).<\/p>\n

A mixture of chocolates\u2014dark, milk, and white\u2014 make this all-chocolate
fashion statement.
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins from the Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat<\/p><\/div>\n

9. A Healthy Choice<\/h4>\n

Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate each have different characteristics. Milk chocolate contains milk products. White chocolate does not contain cocoa solids, only cocoa butter.<\/p>\n

Dark chocolate is rich in nutrients such as iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, zinc, and selenium. Its low saturated fatty acids and high content of oleic acid also lowers cholesterol.<\/p>\n

Chocolate may also contain a few random insect parts, but have no fear. The FDA rejects products that have more than 60 insect pieces in 100 grams of chocolate.<\/p>\n

Not just food of the gods, but inspiration for artisanal chocolate makers.
An all-chocolate violin from Jos\u00e9phine Vannier.
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

10. Food of the Gods<\/h4>\n

There is a reason the cocoa tree is called Theobroma cacao.<\/em>The name is derived from Greek for \u201cfood of the gods.\u201d A fitting name for this world treasure. Chocolate also inspires artistic creativity. The chocolatiers of the world have made some amazing creations.<\/p>\n

Stock up. World chocolate day is July 7. But, with such rich cultural traditions, there\u2019s no reason we can\u2019t celebrate chocolate every day of the year.<\/p>\n

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn\u2019t hurt. \u2014<\/em>Charles M. Schulz<\/p>\n

All-chocolate hats by Jos\u00e9phine Vannier
\u00a9 Meredith Mullins<\/p><\/div>\n

Thank you to the Mus\u00e9e du Chocolat<\/a> in Paris and Jos\u00e9phine Vannier Chocolat Artisanal<\/a> in Paris for information about chocolate.<\/em><\/p>\n

Comment<\/a><\/i>\u00a0on this post below, or inspire insight with your own\u00a0OIC Moment\u00a0<\/em>here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":30949,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,227],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heritage-culture","category-worldwide-mappoints"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30969"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30969\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31000,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30969\/revisions\/31000"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}