It is not surprising that there are so many chocolate goodies…
What IS surprising is the story of chocolate itself.
The seeds go through many changes on the way to becoming a candy bar, but it all starts in the
tropical rainforests…
•
The Cacao Tree needs…
20o C + temps
190 cm + rainfall
Shade
High Humidity
Special insect
pollinators - midges
If humans continue to cut down rainforests and destroy the
ecosystem there, we will no longer have
CHOCOLATE.
Yikes!
Mayan Hieroglyphics tell us…
• Cacao tree named for bitter seeds – caca
• Mayans drank a broth of the sweet pulp
Cacao for the rich
• In Mayan temples. Chocolate was served to kings and priests.
• Chocolate symbolized vitality and riches.
Aztec Hieroglyphics tell us…
• Cacao beans used for currency
• Aztecs did not grow their own cacao trees, but massed large “banks” of seeds from trading with neighbors to the south.
• Montezuma and his guards drank 2,000 pots of chocolate per day
Aztecs also revered chocolate
• Offerings of cacao were made to the gods
• When Cortez arrived, the Aztecs thought he was a god, so they gave
him chocolate.
Cacao for the Conquistadors?
• Received mixed reviews, but was a source of nutrition
• In Spanish, caca means….
• Taste some cocoa
Chocolate comes to Europe
• During the 1700’s, cocoa houses started popping up all over Europe.
• Now adding considerable amounts of sugar and other spices.
• Fashionable
Physical Properties
• Facts about a substance that can be observed mainly with the senses.
• Examples are color, texture, taste, phase, boiling point, and density.
Physical Changes
• When a substance changes form or shape.
• When a substance changes phase.
• Substance still has the same chemical identity.
Chemical Properties
• Facts that describe how a substance reacts with other substances.
• Sometimes these can be observed with the senses – eg. copper changing color after reacting with water.
Chemical Changes
• When two substances react with each other and form chemical bonds to become a NEW substance.
• Often occur because of added heat / energy
• Color change or change in smell usually indicate a chemical change.