In modern times chocolate has been applied to Valentine's Day as a romantic present, but this association goes back to prehistoric America. A man could propose to a woman by making chocolate for her; it was also considered to be an aphrodisiac. When Hernan
Cortez heard about that he planted 2,000 chocolate trees.
Do you think he was compensating for something? The melting point of chocolate is the same as that of blood temperature and so it's mouth feel alone is a sensual experience. Added to this chocolate contains mood lifting substances including phenylethylamine which, when released into the bloodstream, induces feelings of euphoria.
Long before the colonization of the Americas the natives of Brazil, Mexico, the West Indies and South America used seeds of
the chocolatl tree to make a stimulating drink. These bean-like seeds
were cacahuatl or cacao--which came to be misspelled as cocoa. The beans were so highly valued that some tribes used them as currency. (Imagine having to decide whether to spend or consume your chocolate!) Possibly the world's first chocoholic, the ruler Montezuma was completely addicted to the beans. He drank them infused in cold water with no seasoning. He served the sacred drink in goblets of beaten gold, and at the coronation of Montezuma II in 1502 a concoction of chocolate and psilocybin mushrooms was
served to the guests. This must have been quite an intoxicating mixture.
The Aztecs believe that one of their prophets had brought
the seeds from paradise and sown them in his garden.
By eating the fruit he acquired universal wisdom and knowledge.
