Monday, March 7, 2011

For the Love of Chocolate!


Since, in the Magical Love Series, the heroines are all chocolate lovers and one is even a chocolatier, I decided to explore the world of chocolate.


The trip starts back in ancient times when the use of chocolate wasn’t the guilty pleasure of today. Through the ages it has functioned as a scared ceremonial beverage, medicine, status symbol and money.


There is evidence the Maya typically used the cacao seeds to make a thick, bitter chocolate beverage. Though heyday of their culture was from around 250-900 A.D., some evidence suggests another culture used it before then.


Some experts think chocolate-drinking may have originated around 1,000 B.C. with the Olmec, who lived Mexico’s Gulf Coast region around 1,500 to 400 B.C. Whether credit goes to the Olmec, the Maya or the Aztec who followed, we today owe them a big thank you!


Over the next couple of weeks I’ll share more information on the importance of chocolate in history and give the details of a contest centered on the Magical Love Series. So be sure to check back each week to learn more about our ‘go to’ for a quick stress release or sugar fix (hey, it’s actually good for you!), as well as how your recipe can appear in the series.

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