Cocoa:

What is it?, history, cultivation, nutritional value, uses, recipes, and more...

Legend has it that cocoa was the most beautiful tree in the Aztecs’ paradise, with multiple virtues attributed to it, such as calming hunger and thirst, providing universal wisdom, and curing diseases.

It is believed that the first cocoa trees grew naturally in the tropical jungles of the Amazon and Orinoco basins about 4,000 years ago, and the Mayans began cultivating it over 2,500 years ago.

For the Mayans, cocoa symbolized physical energy and longevity. It was used as medicine, and the doctors of that time prescribed it as a relaxant, stimulant, and restorative. Cocoa butter was also used as an ointment to heal wounds.

The Mayans created a bitter beverage called “chocolha” made from cocoa seeds, which was consumed exclusively by nobles and kings. There are descriptions of various methods of preparation and flavoring, making it more liquid or thick, with more or less foam, and adding honey, corn, or spicy chili.

When the Aztecs conquered the Mayan territory, they also gained access to cocoa, reserving it for the elites and warriors. Due to its scarcity, it was highly prized, and its seeds were used as a form of currency.

It is known that Christopher Columbus was officially the first Westerner to taste the beverage in 1502 during a trip to Nicaragua, although he was not particularly impressed by the flavor.

In 1528, Hernán Cortés introduced cocoa to Europe for the first time. However, it was considered a very astringent and not very pleasant-tasting product, so it initially did not receive much attention. It was only when the monks in Spain adapted the beverage to European tastes by adding honey (or sugar), milk, and spices (such as vanilla and cinnamon) that it became a beverage of interest, limited to consumption by members of the court.

Despite its exclusive treatment, chocolate spread to other countries, such as France, thanks to the marriage between María Teresa of Spain and Louis XIV, the Sun King, as the bride was a great aficionado of this beverage.

From Paris, France, it quickly spread throughout Europe (in cities such as London, Amsterdam, Ghent, among others). Its high demand led to the rapid expansion of cocoa cultivation. The Spanish attempted to cultivate it in Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Trinidad, with little success, and later in Ecuador with better results (1635).

The Dutch, who had conquered Curaçao, began cultivating cocoa there from 1620, the French in Martinique, Saint Lucia, and Brazil, while the English did so in Jamaica. The Spanish African colonies also began cocoa cultivation. It began to be cultivated on the island of Bioko (then called Fernando Poo), and from there the seeds spread to Nigeria (1874), Ghana (1879), and Cameroon (1925-39).

Thanks to cocoa from the Spanish colonies, the metropolis obtained the raw material that allowed them to develop the consumption of chocolate and cocoa-based beverages. Currently, over 70% of the cocoa consumed worldwide comes from West Africa (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Cameroon, among others).

In Peru, cocoa is one of the main organic crops that have replaced coca cultivation in the fight against drug trafficking. With state and international support, as well as local networks, thousands of families in the Peruvian rainforest (especially in the VRAEM region) have abandoned illicit coca cultivation in favor of cocoa cultivation as a means to change their lives and move forward. The success of this project has been so significant that Peru is currently the 8th largest producer of cocoa in the world.