ĭemand for organic cocoa products is also expanding, as consumers are increasingly concerned about food security and other environmental issues. According to the latest published data of the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), the total world production of cocoa beans in 2016–17 was 4,739,000 tons, principally from Africa (3,622,000 tons). Cocoa plants respond well to relatively high temperatures (with a maximum annual average of 30–32 ☌ and minimum average of 18–21 ☌) and generally high relative humidity: often as much as 100% during the day, falling to 70–80% at night. The natural habitat of the cocoa tree is the lower level of an evergreen rain forest. The characteristics of chocolate were long ignored in Europe owing to difficulties with an environment unfavorable to its growth. It was in 1753 that the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus named the cocoa plant Theobroma cacao, from the Latin name Theobroma, and the Aztec word xocolatl.
Ĭocoa appeared in Europe in 1528, when the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés brought samples of cocoa to King Charles of Spain, spreading the great effects of the beverage prepared from this “brown gold”.
He captured a canoe that contained cocoa beans, which were considered “mysterious-looking almonds” and identified as a form of currency in Mesoamerica. In 1502, Christopher Columbus was the first European to encounter cocoa. It was called the “Food of the Gods” and was presented at the table of Emperor Moctezuma II by the Aztecs. For the Maya, chocolate was a cocoa drink prepared with hot water and often flavored with cinnamon and pepper. The history of chocolate began with the Maya, who were probably the first people in South America to cultivate the cocoa plant.
0 kommentar(er)
