Hot Chocolate Day

Happy Hot Chocolate Day, everyone!

In my opinion, there is no better drink to enjoy on a cold day than a nice piping hot cup of hot chocolate. It's become a drink associated with the winter. 

Its history is rather intertwined with the history of chocolate itself. The first chocolate drinks were believed to be consumed by the Mayans as early as 500 BC. They were made by grinding cocoa seeds into paste and mixing them with a variety of ingredients like water, cornmeal, and even chili peppers. These chocolate drinks were rather bitter-tasting and cold, as sugar had not come to the Americas. Huh. You'd think the chili peppers would give it some heat.

Europeans' first known contact with chocolate was in 1502, thanks to Columbus on his fourth voyage. What we think of as hot chocolate first rose in the 17th century. It was considered a luxury item at first for the upper classes as cocoa and sugar were very expensive. From there, hot chocolate would spread throughout the world, many places doing their own little twists on the drink.

Hot chocolate has a fascinating history, so I recommend you get yourself some today, and think about the journey it took to get here. Thanks for reading this blog entry! Take care of yourselves and each other! See you next time!