The Story of Chocolate for Valentine’s Day

13th Feb 2024

Mexicolore contributor Katia Hougaard

Many thanks to longstanding friend and Mexicolore supporter, Katia Hougaard, for sharing with us this essay on the botanical and cultural history of cacao. Katia is is a PhD student researching the plant immune system, specifically how plants defend themselves against aphids, at Imperial College London. She is also a science communicator dedicated to creating educational and inspiring photography, essays, and videos on botany and gardening as “Katia Plant Scientist”. Katia has a lifelong fascination with indigenous American culture and history. She often highlights Native American contributions to horticulture and global cuisine in her plant science communication.

If you are gifting chocolate to a loved one or yourself on Valentine’s Day, make sure to learn the incredible story of the Cacao tree (Theobroma cacao) and the human race’s love affair with this plant.
The chocolate candy many of us enjoy on Valentine’s Day starts out with raw materials from a specific plant, the Cacao tree. In the wild, the Cacao tree is found over a large geographic area encompassing south eastern Mexico to the Amazon Basin. Cacao may have originally evolved in the region around Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, or this area may have been a refuge for the species during the Ice Age 21000 years ago when natural climate change reduced its habitat. Cacao is a member of the Malvaceae plant family, which includes hibiscus, hollyhock, cotton, and the Baobab tree.

There are 20 species in the Theobroma genus, but T. cacao is the only species currently used for chocolate production. The plant is a spindly evergreen tree evolved to grow in the shade of towering rainforest trees. The flowers, which are mostly pollinated by midges in the tree’s native range, are small, pale-coloured, and sprout directly from the sides of the trunk and branches. The most visually arresting feature of the tree is the large, egg-shaped seed pods.
Chocolate begins with the Cacao seeds inside the seed pods. The seeds are surrounded by white pulpy tissue called “mucilage” which tastes like tropical fruit and is eaten by rainforest animals like monkeys and sloths. It is thought that indigenous Americans originally harvested cacao pods for the tasty pulp and much later discovered chocolate-making.
The pulp surrounding the seeds is fermented, and the resulting chemical changes and heat generated by the microbial action changes the tissue inside the seed from bitter and astringent to the distinctive chocolatey flavour.

The seeds are cleaned, dried, and roasted before the seed coats are cracked open to reveal the nibs. Cacao nibs are the endosperm of the cacao seed which are ground to produce cacao mass. The cacao mass is liquified by heating and the resulting chocolate liqueur can be processed into the cacao butter and cacao solids. Different chocolate products are made by recombining the butter and solids in varying proportions.
Chocolate is a sweet treat, and those are unhealthy indulgences – right? Not necessarily with cacao! In general, chocolate products with more cacao solids and less cacao butter are healthier since they contain more of the original plant chemicals and less fatty cacao butter, along with other additives. Dark chocolate is rich in iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, selenium, and iron. Moderate dark chocolate consumption may help regulate healthy cholesterol, reduce heart disease risk, and improve brain function.

The romance of culture and chocolate
Although Cacao is most famously associated with Mesoamerican cultures, genetic studies indicate that Cacao was domesticated by indigenous Americans around 5,300 years ago in the Upper Amazon region. From there, Cacao cultivation spread north to Mexico. The Cacao fruit pulp was more commonly consumed in South America in Pre Columbian times while the Mesoamericans invented the technique of fermentation and roasting to utilise the Cacao nibs.
Archaeological evidence, such as chemical residues on ancient pottery shards, pinpoints the first use of Cacao drinks in Mesoamerica around 1600 BCE. By the time of the Classical Mayan civilization (250-900 CE), ground cacao nibs were mixed with water and spices by careful pouring between vessels to make a nourishing and invigorating hot drink which was consumed by people of all social classes.

In the later Mexica (Aztec) civilization, cold cacao drink or xocoatl (bitter water in Nahuatl) exquisitely flavoured with flowers, fruits, chillies, and spices was reserved for the elite and ceremonial occasions. Cacao seeds were used as a form of currency for trade and barter during the Mexica Empire.
After the conquest of the Mexica Empire by Spain in 1521, cacao was one of the many new plant-based foods brought to Europe. In Spain, the locals of Andalusia experimented with the spicy xocoatl by adding cane sugar and dairy ingredients. It is said that drinking chocolate was so universally popular from the 17th century to the late 19th century that it prevented coffee from becoming mainstream in Spanish culture. Drinking chocolate caught on in the rest of Europe in the 1600’s but it was not until the mid 19th century that innovation in processing and chemistry allowed the invention of solid chocolate candies. Cadbury chocolate company is credited with marketing chocolates as a token of love for Valentine’s Day in 1868.

Chocolate in the modern world is not always a sweet story. Today, approximately 70% of the world’s cacao is produced in West African countries like Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Sadly, exploitative practices like child labour and enslavement are still rife in these countries’ Cacao farms. Chocolate lovers can help by buying Fair Trade certified chocolate products and other responsibly grown cacao products. Fortunately, cacao can be grown in sustainable agroforestry alongside native rainforest trees especially in Latin America. Cacao’s sacred and medicinal properties are experiencing a renaissance among “chocolate shamans” around the world who draw upon indigenous knowledge to make the ethical production and mindful consumption of cacao a healing spiritual experience.
Humanity and Cacao have a long-lasting love that continues to evolve over time, and has the potential to benefit plants, people, and the planet. Ponder the storied history of Cacao if you indulge in chocolate this Valentine’s Day.

Picture sources:-
• Colombia photos courtesy of Fernando/Cacao Caucano, Colombia
• Map and jadeite sculpture image courtesy of Jim Reed
• Fair Trade images downloaded from https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/media-centre/blog/what-makes-fairtrade-chocolate-taste-even-sweeter/
• Images of cacao harvesting - from Mexicolore’s ‘History of Chocolate’ section.