Pods Of Pleasure

Chocolate has since centuries captivated our tastes. Neha Gupta Kapoor talks about three chocolatiers who have got it right in India

- Neha Gupta Kapoor

“Death by chocolate.” You won’t hear this phrase in relation to any other food. Even “death by cheese” doesn’t have the right ring to it. It has to be “death by chocolate” because it’s the only food that can take you seven heavens up by releasing particular neurotransmitters triggering happiness. The part about “death” is perhaps a dramatic interpretation of not knowing when to stop eating it despite a full stomach.

If historic tales hold any truth, the 16th century Aztec emperor Montezuma used to drink three gallons of chocolate a day to increase his libido. This, I heard on History Channel that also reports: “Olmec, Mayan and Aztec civilisations found chocolate to be an invigorating drink, mood enhancer and aphrodisiac, which led them to believe that it possessed mystical and spiritual qualities.”

On my recent visit to Belgian Chocolate Village Museum (belgian chocolate village.be) in Brussels, I learnt that earlier still, cacao beans and sea shells were common currency for the Aztecs around the 15th century — the unit was termed “carga”. Later, when the Mayans rediscovered cacao pods or the fruit, they believed them to be a gift from god on first taste. Each year they sacrificed a dog to Ek Chuah who was regarded as the God of cocoa traders. But naturally, with such a high valuation of chocolate, the general public allowed themselves this treasured commodity only occasionally, which was known as a bitter drink afforded by the wealthy. It was savoured as porridge thickened with maize or added to spiced hot water.

Between the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Spanish became increasingly familiar with chocolate, they sweetened it by stirring cane sugar into the drink with cinnamon. They may have altered the taste, if only slightly, but what remained unchanged, even after so many years, is that it continued to be a symbol of luxury and wealth.