ON A CHILLY winter evening, nothing warms you up better than a cup of hot cocoa. Although today’s typical toppings—whipped cream, marshmallows, crushed peppermint candy—may be modern marvels, chocolate was first consumed in liquid form by the Olmec people of northwestern Central America around 1500 BCE It was even enjoyed by the Aztec emperor Montezuma, and the Aztec word for it (xocolatl, pronounced shoh-kwah-tl or shoh-kwah-lah-tl) evolved into the English word chocolate.
But the Aztecs didn’t serve their cocoa hot. And since sugar had not yet arrived from Europe, back then, the drink was often flavoured with peppers and spices. It may not have been quite as indulgent as today’s version, but it was more palatable if you believed, as the Aztecs did, that chocolate was a gift from the gods and had healing properties.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2024-Ausgabe von Reader's Digest India.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der January 2024-Ausgabe von Reader's Digest India.
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ME & MY SHELF
Siddharth Kapila is a lawyer turned writer whose writing has focussed on issues surrounding Hinduism. His debut book, Tripping Down the Ganga: A Son's Exploration of Faith (Speaking Tiger) traces his seven-year-long journey along India's holiest river and his explorations into the nature of faith among believers and skeptics alike.
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