This is an archived web presentation from the NMNH Education Department and is no longer being maintained. For questions about this site please contact: education@si.edu.
Cacao trees are believed to have originated in South America. The
cacao bean was very important to the Aztec peoples. They called it
xoco-latl. (Today, Americans call it chocolate.) The Aztec people
used the cacao bean as a form of money. They also roasted and ground the
cacao bean, added vanilla pods, water, pepper, and other spices to make
a drink, but it wasn't until after 1492 that sugar was added to the drink
to make it sweet, and it wasn't until more than 150 years later, that the
English people began making the drink with milk instead of water!
