Part 2

The drinks made from this coarse chocolate were frequently very complex, but the chocolate itself was the chief constituent. It was the custom to beat the mixture into a froth or foam, by means of stirrers, of mallet-like forms; in fact, it is said by some writers that the very name chocolate, is derived from a native word indicating the noise made by the stirring of the beverage.

Thus, Thomas Gage, in his “New Survey of the West Indies,” says (under date of 1648), “The name chocolatte is an Indian name, and is compounded from atte, as some say, or as others, atle, which in the Mexican language signifieth water, and from the sound which the water (wherein is put the chocolatte) makes, as choco, choco, choco, when it is stirred in a cup by an instrument called a ‘molinet,’ or ‘molinillo,’ until it bubble and rise unto a froath.”

From a treatise published in the Seventeenth Century.]

The same writer gives us an interesting account of the native method of preparing the drink. From the extract, which is copied without change of the quaint spelling, it will be seen how wide the use of chocolate was in Europe towards the middle of the seventeenth century:--

“Now, for the making or compounding of this drink, I shall set down here the method. The cacao and the other ingredients must be beaten in a morter of stone, or (as the Indians use) ground upon a broad stone, which they call Metate, and is only made for that use. But first the ingredients are all to be dried, except the Achiotte, with care that they be beaten to powder, keeping them still in stirring that they be not burnt, or become black; for if they be overdried, they will be bitter and lose their virtue. The cinnamon and the long red pepper are to be first beaten with the anniseed, and then the cacao, which must be beaten by little and little till it be all powdered, and in the beating it must be turned round that it may mix the better. Every one of these ingredients must be beaten by itself, and then all be put into the vessel where the cacao is, which you must stir together with a spoon, and then take out that paste, and put it into the morter, under which there must be a little fire, after the confection is made; but if more fire be put under than will only warm it, then the unctuous part will dry away. The Achiotte also must be put in in the beating, that it may the better take the colour. All the ingredients must be searced, save only the cacao, and if from the cacao the dry shell be taken, it will be the better. When it is well beaten and incorporated (which will be known by the shortnesse of it), then with a spoon (so in the Indias is used) is taken up some of the paste, which will be almost liquid, and made into tablets, or else without a spoon put into boxes, and when it is cold it will be hard.

“Those that make it into tablets put a spoonful of the paste upon a piece of paper (the Indians put it upon the leaf of a plaintin tree), where, being put into the shade (for in the sun it melts and dissolves), it grows hard; and then bowing the paper or leaf, the tablet fals off by reason of the fatnesse of the paste. But if it be put into anything of earth or wood, it stickes fast, and will not come off but with scraping or breaking. The manner of drinking it is diverse; the one (being the way most used in Mexico) is to take it hot with Atolle, dissolving a tablet in hot water, and stirring and beating it in the cup, when it is to be drunk, with a Molinet, and when it is well stirred to a scumme, or froth, then to fill the cup with hot Atolle, and so drink it sup by sup. Another way is that the chocolate, being dissolved with cold water and stirred with the Molinet, and the scumme being taken off and put into another vessel, the remainder be set upon the fire, with as much sugar as will sweeten it, and when it is warme, then to powre it upon the scumme which was taken off before, and so to drink it. But the most ordinary way is to warme the water very hot, and then to powre out half the cup full that you mean to drink; and to put into it a tablet or two, or as much as will thicken reasonably the water, and then grinde it well with the Molinet, and when it is well ground and risen to a scumme, to fill the cup with hot water, and so drink it by sups (having sweetened it with sugar), and to eat it with a little conserve or maple bred, steeped into the chocolatte.

“Besides these ways there is another way (which is much used in the Island of Santo Domingo), which is to put the chocolatte into a pipkin with a little water, and to let it boyle well till it be dissolved, and then to put in sufficient water and sugar according to the quantity of the chocolatte, and then to boyle it again untill there comes an oily scumme upon it, and then to drink it.

“There is another way yet to drink chocolatte, which is cold, which the Indians use at feasts to refresh themselves, and it is made after this manner: The chocolatte (which is made with none, or very few, ingredients) being dissolved in cold water with the Molinet, they take off the scumme or crassy part, which riseth in great quantity, especially when the cacao is older and more putrefied. The scumme they lay aside in a little dish by itself, and then put sugar into that part from whence was taken the scumme, and then powre it from on high into the scumme, and so drink it cold. And this drink is so cold that it agreeth not with all men’s stomachs; for by experience it hath been found that it doth hurt by causing pains in the stomach, especially to women.

“The third way of taking it is the most used, and thus certainly it doth no hurt, neither know I why it may not be used as well in England as in other parts, both hot and cold; for where it is so much used, the most, if not all, as well in the Indias as in Spain, Italy, Flanders (which is a cold countrey), find that it agreeth well with them. True it is, it is used more in the Indias than in the European parts, because there the stomachs are more apt to faint than here, and a cup of chocolatte well confectioned comforts and strengthens the stomach. For myself I must say, I used it twelve years constantly, drinking one cup in the morning, another yet before dinner between nine or ten of the clock; another within an hour or two after dinner, and another between four and five in the afternoon; and when I was purposed to sit up late to study, I would take another cup about seven or eight at night, which would keep me waking till about midnight. And if by chance I did neglect any of these accustomed houres, I presently found my stomach fainty. And with this custome I lived twelve years in those parts healthy, without any obstructions, or oppilations, not knowing what either ague or feaver was.”

After its introduction into Europe from America, chocolate was used at first only as a luxury, but it has steadily advanced in popular esteem until it is now recognized as one of the necessaries of life.

It would be interesting to speculate as to the accidents which led to the original use of such beverages as coffee, tea, and chocolate. The earliest employment of the two former is veiled in as deep a mystery as that which surrounds the chocolate-plant. All were used at the outset by what we have been accustomed to call the uncultivated races of mankind, but we cannot surmise what first attracted their attention to these plants. One can only say that by the natives of lands where the plants grow naturally, they have all been used from time immemorial, and that all three are welcome gifts from a rude state of civilization to the highest which exists to-day. By the savages and the Aztecs of America, by the roving tribes of Arabia, and by the dwellers in the farther East, the virtues of these three plants were recognized long before any one of them was introduced into Europe.

There is reason to believe that long before the discovery of America, Tea and Coffee had been vaguely known to travellers in the Orient, as curiosities, much as we to-day regard the Kola-nut and Maté, but neither Tea nor Coffee was then employed as a beverage anywhere in Western Europe. In fact, all trustworthy evidence in the case leads us to a surprising conclusion, namely, That Chocolate was the first of these beverages to attract the attention of Europeans. This beverage rapidly made its way throughout Europe, beginning from Spain and Portugal, whither its discoverers had brought it. The other beverages, Tea and Coffee, soon followed, and after a short time became associated together in popular regard.

In a duodecimo work published in 1685, and now very rare, the beverages derived from these three plants are described in a clear and forcible manner. The reproduction of the frontispiece of this book, given above, shows how intimate the association of these beverages was regarded even two centuries ago. It is interesting to observe the distinction made by the artist in the receptacles and cups for holding these three different drinks. On the floor, near the vase, is seen one of the chocolate-stirrers described on page 10.

At the outset the manufacture of chocolate in Europe was carried on with substantially the same appliances as those used by the natives. A curious indication of this is afforded by the engraving, which shows that the Portuguese mill was to all intents modelled after that used by the Mexicans.

From an early engraving.]

II.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE CHOCOLATE-PLANT.

The chocolate plant is known to botanists as Theobroma Cacao. The first or generic word in this name means food of the gods. The genus contains six species, only one of which is generally cultivated. It is probable, however, that some of the seeds which find their way into commerce are yielded by other and wild species. It is, moreover, more than likely that among the numerous varieties of Theobroma Cacao now cultivated there may be some hybrids between the different forms.

From an old engraving.]

The plant belongs to the Sterculiaceæ, a natural order containing forty-one genera and five hundred and twenty species. The general habit of the tree is well shown in the engraving.

From a recent drawing.]

The seeds of the plant are borne in pods, represented in the illustrations on pages 17 and 18, the former taken from one of the early works on the subject. No. 1 in the first engraving exhibits the ripened pod, 5 and 6 the fruits in different stages of growth. No. 2 shows the pod cut open and displays some of the seeds, while 3 and 4 are the seeds themselves,--the former in its natural state, the latter with the seed-coats removed.

The pod is irregular and angular, much like some forms of cucumbers, but more pointed at the lower extremity, and more distinctly grooved. It measures in length nine inches to a foot, or even more, and about half as much in diameter. The color, when young, is green, becoming later dark yellow or yellowish brown. The rind is thick and tough. The pod is filled with closely packed “beans,” or seeds, imbedded in a mass of cellular tissue, sometimes of pleasant subacid taste. The seeds are about as large as ordinary almonds, whitish when fresh, and of a disagreeable bitter taste. When dried they become brown.

The fruits are about four months in ripening; but they appear and mature the whole year through. In point of fact, however, there are chief harvests, usually in early spring, but this is different for different countries.

The following extract from a comparatively recent consular report gives a clear idea of the modern method of cultivating the plant in some parts of South America. The extract was given in our former edition, but it is thought best to transcribe it here.

“The tree grows to the average height of thirteen feet, and from five to eight inches in diameter, is of spreading habit and healthy growth, and although requiring much more care and attention than the coffee-tree, yet its equally reliable crops require comparatively little labor in properly preparing for the market.

“... There are two varieties of the cocoa-tree cultivated in Venezuela, known as El Criollo and El Trinitario, respectively, the former of which, though not so prolific, nor as early fruiting as the latter, is yet superior to it in size, color, sweetness, and oleaginous properties of the fruit, and in the fact that it always finds ready sale, while the latter is often dull or neglected. The difference in price of the two varieties is also marked, the former being quoted at $28 to $30 per fanega (110 pounds), while the latter commands approximately half that price.

“While coffee can be successfully cultivated under a temperature of 60 degrees F., the cocoa-tree, for proper development and remunerative crops, requires a temperature of 80 degrees F.; hence the area of the cocoa belt is comparatively restricted, and the cocoa-planter presumably has not to fear the fierce competition that he has encountered in the cultivation of cotton and coffee. Besides the condition of temperature above stated, this crop needs a moist soil and humid atmosphere; and so the lands along the coast of the Caribbean sea, sloping from the mountain-tops to the shore, bedewed by the exhalations of the sea and irrigated by the numerous rivulets that course down the valleys, are found to be, in all respects, well adapted to the profitable cultivation of cocoa. And while the lands in the interior possessing facilities for irrigation may be said to be equally as good for the purpose, yet the absence of roads, and the consequently difficult transportation of produce on the backs of donkeys over rugged mountain paths, materially reduce the profits on the crop before it reaches the market.