Cocoa is
my favorite drink. I use to drink it everyday like coffee, but then I was hit
with a bout of emergency room kidney stones and at some point, I was told
chocolate could have been a contributor to that. Is that true? Anyways, I
slowed my cocoa drinking down, but many ultrasounds later, I discovered I still
had a stone in my right kidney. It seemed quitting cocoa drinking didn't really
help much. I then decided I was just going to keep drinking cocoa when I felt
like it. I needed to live a little. I started drinking cocoa again this last
winter when it got uncharacteristically cold in Southern, California. Now it's spring
and the weather is still not warm enough for me (I only fully function at
approximate 85 degrees but it's been in the 70s mostly) so I am STILL drinking
hot cocoa. I heat up some milk; add some honey and one tablespoon of Hershey's
Cocoa. "100% Cacao" is what it says on the container. "What is
Cacao exactly?" and "Is that good for me?" I Googled. Turns out
it does have health benefits! Cacao comes from a tree. A cacao tree spouts
these large oval-shaped pods (very space alien-like) and inside the pods are
cacao beans. These beans are ground up and components of that create cocoa
powder. But, here's the really good part. As I was googling, I was completely
taken back, when very nonchalantly on the Internet; the history of the cacao
plant involves ancient aliens! YES, many, many years ago in Mesoamerica,
specifically what is Mexico today, there was a group of people known as the
Toltecs (or Olmecs, the dates are never precise). They were going about life as
best they could when all of a sudden a flash of light comes from the Sun,
floats down to Earth and out pops Quetzalcoatl. In other words, he landed his
spaceship on Earth. Quetzalcoatl was described as looking like a serpent but
also with some colorful feathers like a parrot and that was how he was given
his name, which literally means, "feathered serpent" in the Nahuatl
or Aztec language. He must have looked like a very colorful reptilian. Even
though the people were frightened at first, they soon discovered that
Quetzalcoatl had come to help them. He had great knowledge and supernatural
powers. He taught them many things including the arts and nutrition! The people
did so well in learning from Quetzalcoatl that he decided to treat them with
his favorite drink from his home planet of Venus. Arrangements were made and
Quetzalcoatl planted the first cacao trees on Earth. He taught the people how
to make the cocoa drink. This rich history was documented by the Toltec people
and many years after, was taught and worshiped by the Aztecs and the Mayans.
These cultures also got to enjoy the drink of the Gods. When the Spaniards came
to Mesoamerica they were introduced to cocoa and the amazing cacao tree. The
Spaniards decided to add cocoa to milk with honey and this is the recipe I
drink today! They took the treat back to Europe and it was a hit. I'm
embarrassed to admit I had no idea that cocoa originated in the jungles of
Mexico. I thought it was from Europe because it's so popular there. Germany,
Spain and France go crazy with chocolate delicacies. But, it's from Mexico. No
wonder I'm hooked on it. My DNA has 19% Native American, Northern Michoacán
from my Grandfather. Michoacán is located only 4 hours from Tula de Allende
where the Toltecs lived. It is literally engraved in my DNA to drink cocoa; a
gift from the gods. Raise your mug and cheers to Quetzalcoatl!
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| Temple of Quetzalcoatl |
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| Artist depiction of Quetzalcoatl. Please give credit if you know the artist and I will update. |