Some chocolate history:
2000 BC, the Amazon: Cocoa, from which chocolate is created, is said to have been first used in the Amazon at least 4,000 years ago.
Sixth Century AD: Chocolate, derived from the seed of the cocoa tree, used by the Maya Culture as early as the Sixth Century AD.
300 AD, Maya Culture: To the Mayas, cocoa pods symbolized life and fertility. Stone carvings from their palaces and temples revealed many depictions of cocoa pods.
1200, Aztec Culture: The Aztecs thought the creation of the cocoa plant was by their god Quetzalcoatl who, descended from heaven on a beam of a morning star carrying a cocoa tree stolen from paradise. In both the Mayan and Aztec cultures cocoa was the basis for a thick, cold, unsweetened drink called xocoatl… believed to be a health elixir.
Aztecs believed wisdom and power came from eating the fruit of the cocoa tree, and also that it had nourishing, fortifying, and even aphrodisiac qualities. The Aztec emperor, Montezuma drank thick chocolate which was dyed red. The drink was so imprtant that it was served in golden goblets that were thrown away after only one use. He liked it so much that he was said to drink 50 gold goblets each day.
The cocoa beans were used for currency and was so valued it was encompassed into the Mayan and Aztec monetary systems.