THE FOLKLORE OF PLANTS: Cacao

Lisa Karen Miller

         “Love, n. A temporary insanity curable by marriage or by the removal of the patient from the influences under which he incurred the disorder.”

                                                Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary

          Terrible old cynic, was our Mr. Bierce.

          Believing chocolate was a gift from the gods, Mayans worshipped Theobroma cacao.  Millions of us have now joined this church.

          They made a medicinal drink from the beans called xocolatl. One of the Mayan gods was depicted as a cacao tree, while the Aztecs believed that the god of agriculture carried the plant to earth. They mixed it with chile peppers and used it as an aphrodisiac.

          Originally prepared as a frothy drink in Mesoamerica as far back as 1500 B.C.E., it was available only to the elite, for it was a godly potion that would grant energy and power.  It became an integral part of their religious rites.

          It was also used as currency; having a shelf life upwards of three years makes it well suited to the purpose.

         People do tend to wax lyrical about The Bean, in ways that might be mistaken for love poetry. As Geronimo Piperni put it, “Chocolate is a divine, celestial drink, the sweat of the stars, the vital seed, divine nectar, the drink of the gods, panacea and universal medicine.”

         The Spaniards realized the value of this black gold and so took the strange new bean home to share with their wealthier patrons, who added sugar to the bitter brew.

         Doctors prescribed it for everything from tuberculosis to sexual dysfunction. The French feared it would arouse passions to an uncontrollable frenzy.

         The more intrepid British were quite prepared to take the risk.

          London was soon full of chocolate houses. Chocolate-loving British emigrants took it with them to America, and its round trip was completed. 

          Coenraad Johannes Van Houten developed a method to remove some of the fat from cacao and alkalize it.  “Dutching” spurred the large-scale production of cheap chocolate.  No wonder so many of us still associate good chocolate with the Netherlands.

          Our love affair with chocolate continues unabated, just as intense as the day we met. We know it makes us feel good, and science is confirming why.  It has twice as many antioxidants as red wine, relaxes blood vessels, and reduces the risk of blood clots.

          Chocolate also evokes the same brain response as falling in love.

          It’s a good deal cheaper and a sight less messy sometimes, too.  Just ask old Ambrose.

© Copyright 2023 Lisa Karen Miller