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very February 14th love-struck
men and women spend more than 1 bil-
lion dollars on chocolate products. Blame
Cupid for the love-struck part, but why
chocolate? What does chocolate really
have to do with the most romantic day of
the year? Here is a brief history of choco-
late and Valentine’s Day.
Confectionery history has a record of
at least 4,000 years, when Egyptians
captured their treats on papyrus. Sug-
ary confections were being sold in their
marketplaces as far back as 1566 B.C.,
sweetened with date sugar or honey. Yet
chocolate did not appear on the scene
until the ancient Aztec and Maya cultures
discovered the value of the cacao plant.
It is reputed to have originated in the
Amazon or Orinoco basin.
Valentine’s Day is many things to different
people- a chance to start new relation-
ships, rekindle old ones, or remind that
special
someone
how wonderful
they really are.
Others feel it is just
another “Hallmark”
holiday where they are
expected to do some-
thing for unknown reasons.
Regardless of your hopes, ex-
pectations, or reservations about
Valentine’s Day, chocolate has
long been a favorite gift for lovers.
Our infatuation with chocolate first
began 2,000 years ago when it
was discovered in Latin America.
The Maya and Aztec elites infused
cocoa beans with water to form
frothy chocolate drinks – the
first frappuccinos, if you will
– for special occasions
and as sacrifices to the
gods. The Aztec ruler
Montezuma believed
that chocolate was
an aphrodisiac and
routinely drank it
before entering his
harem, thus increas-
ing chocolate’s
popularity and its as-
sociation with love and
romance. As it turns out,
he was ahead of his
time. The rest of Aztec
society used cocoa
beans as money and
were unable to afford to
drink it.
Until the 1500s,
no one in
Europe knew
anything at
all about the
delicious
drink that
would later
become a
huge hit
world-
wide.
Spain’s
search for a
route to riches
led its explorers
to the Americas
and introduced
them to choco-
late’s delicious
flavor.
Christopher
Columbus
saw how the
Aztecs revered
cocoa when he
entered the picture
in the sixteenth
century and im-
mediately took the
luxury product back
to Queen Isabella of
Spain. Chocoholics
sprouted up all over
Europe, sharing
the legend of
Why Cho
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MAGAZINE - FEBRUARY 2013