Mesoamerican rainforest tree whose fermented and roasted seeds — once reserved for Maya and Aztec royalty as a frothy ritual drink — contain a gentle pharmacological orchestra of theobromine, caffeine, phenethylamine, and anandamide.
Understory tree of humid lowland tropical forest, originating in the upper Amazon and domesticated in Mesoamerica.
The names this organism has been given by the cultures that have lived alongside it. Each carries an entire relationship — what is sacred is never simply translated.
- KakawClassical Maya · Maya
- CacahuatlNahuatl · Aztec
- XocolatlNahuatl"Bitter water"
- Sacred drink and currency in Maya and Aztec civilizations
- Ritual offering to gods including Quetzalcoatl
The Linnaean name theobroma — 'food of the gods' — preserves the Mesoamerican view of cacao's status. Cold, frothy, often chilli-spiced cacao was the original form; sweetened solid chocolate is a European innovation.
- Coe & Coe 1996
- Hurst et al. 2002
