Produced from the seed of the tropical cacao tree, cocoa has been cultivated for at least three millennia. This food originated in Mexico, Central and Northern South America and dates back to around 1100 BC when the Aztecs made it into a beverage known as chocolate or “bitter water” in English. The Mayans used the cocoa bean as a currency. Since one does not eat his money, the chocolate beverage was only drunk by the rich. This beverage was known to have nourishing, strengthening, and aphrodisiac effect, hence came the cocoa bean’s botanic name “Theobroma” meaning the food of the gods…
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Lebanese Chocolate Industry – The Tempting Market for Exports