Chocolate: Food of the Gods & Elixir of Empire”

Three thousand years ago, the Olmecs of central America drew strength from drinking chocolate made from cacao beans. The Maya civilization valued cacao beans as currency, and pottery vessels bearing the hieroglyph for cacao sustained the spirits of nobles in their tombs. Aztec Emperor Montezuma reportedly drank chocolate from a golden goblet, and in 1519 entertained the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortès. The knowledge of chocolate was carried by Spaniards to Europe where the ‘divine drink’ morphed through time and place to become the delicious chocolate bar we enjoy today. Along the way, the history of chocolate became both intriguing and delectable! Frieda Looser Frieda Looser has an MA (Hons) in History and is the author of Fendall’s Legacy, a history of Fendalton and Northwest Christchurch. She was a Senior Tutor in the History Department at the University of Canterbury, tutoring and lecturing in a number of courses, and currently teaches in the UC Academic Skills Centre.