chocolate seed

The seed is the source of the delight we know today as chocolate.

The Olmecs knew they were onto something great and began growing cacao as a crop. The Aztecs and Mayan civilizations carried on the tradition of drinking xocolatl, which was widely believed to enhance mental and sexual abilities.

One day, an Olmec noticed the monkeys snacking on the large, oblong pods of the cacao trees. Ingenuity led the person to ferment and roast the seeds, developing their flavor. The roasted seeds could be ground to make a hot, bitter liquid called xocolatl.

Several thousand years ago, the Olmecs, an ancient pre-Columbian people, lived in the tropical mid-latitudes of the Americas. Here, a plant called cacao grew in the thick green of the rainforest, where jungle primates swung from the trees.

chocolate seed