From Aztec Drink to Winter Comfort: The History of Hot Chocolate

On a cold day, few things beat a mug of hot chocolate. The drink has a long history: for most of it, chocolate was something you drank, not something you ate.

A drink of the gods

People in Mesoamerica, the region that includes much of present-day Mexico and Central America, were preparing drinks from cacao thousands of years ago. The Maya and later the Aztecs ground roasted cacao beans into a paste, mixed it with water and often flavored it with chili, vanilla or flowers. They poured it from one vessel to another to whip up a foam, which was considered the best part.

The drink was usually bitter, not sweet, and it was highly valued. The Aztecs even used cacao beans as a form of currency.

Sugar arrives

Spanish conquistadors brought cacao to Spain in the 16th century, where cooks sweetened it with sugar and spices such as cinnamon. Drinking chocolate became fashionable among Europe's wealthy. In 1657, one of London's first chocolate houses opened, and chocolate houses became places to gossip, gamble and talk politics, much like coffee houses.

Cocoa powder

In 1828, Dutch chemist Coenraad van Houten patented a press that squeezed much of the fat, or cocoa butter, out of roasted cacao, leaving a powder that mixed easily with liquid. It made chocolate drinks cheaper and smoother, and paved the way for solid chocolate bars later in the century.

Hot chocolate or hot cocoa?

People use the words interchangeably, but strictly speaking, hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder, while hot chocolate is made by melting chocolate itself into milk or cream, making it richer and thicker.

Make a better cup

• Whisk a spoonful of cocoa powder with a little hot milk to make a paste first, then add the rest.
• Add a pinch of salt or a little cinnamon to bring out the flavor.
• For a nod to the original, try a tiny pinch of chili.

Mug in hand? Settle in with our Christmas trivia quiz.