A very brief history of chocolate.
The Mayans were the first people in history to figure out the complicated, 5-step process involved in transforming cacao seeds into chocolate. They realised if you remove the seeds from the fruit, ferment, sun dry, roast , winnow, grind and then mix them in hot water you have a delicious, energising drink – the world’s first hot chocolate. The Mayans liked their hot chocolate bitter, with maybe a little cinnamon, but no sweetener.
When the Aztecs came down from the north and took over the Mayan lands they discovered the Mayan’s beloved hot coco. The Aztecs soon demanded their newly conquered subjects pay taxes in the form of cacao beans. Rather like children "I beat you up once, if you don't give me your lollies I will beat you again." Back in the Aztec capital cacao was an expensive imported product and was only consumed by royalty, and the priesthood. The Aztecs preferred their chocolate as a cold, unsweetened drink, sometimes with a dash of chili.
Enter the Spaniards and their quest to bring new lands into the embrace of the church. The conquistadors held the Aztec royalty hostage and demanded all their wealth and treasure, or else a beheading was in order. They were presented with (among other items) sacks of dried cacao beans. The Aztecs were beheaded and the cacao shipped back to Spain. It was the Spanish who were not so fond of the bitter taste and mixed the ground cacao with sugar cane juice, giving birth to chocolate as we know it today.
I learnt all this on a visit to ChocoMuseo, in Granada. Here in Nicaragua they like their hot chocolate as a mix of roast maize, roast cacao and sugar, called Pinolillo.
I would love to write an in-depth article on chocolate if any editor is interested.