That’s right, just like rock and roll, chocolate in Mexico enjoys a lively history - one that I felt I should share as I’m currently in Oaxaca, renowned throughout the country for its presence in the chocolate industry. Here, there are many stores, stands, and stalls where chocolate is made from cacao beans and used in drinks, sweets, and sauces of all kinds. And, of course, the strong indigenous influence in the area keeps the age-old chocolate myths close to the surface.

In the pre-colonial civilizations of Mexico, the cocoa bean was a plant revered on many different levels. Associated with ancient gods of fertility, the Aztecs considered chocolate an aphrodisiac and, according to The Cultural Politics of Food and Eating: A Reader, Montezuma drank up to 50 cups of chocolate a day (unsweetened at the time!) and was always served before visits to his harem of 100 wives to ensure he could perform adequately. Chocolate was also used as a form of money: 100 cacao beans could be traded for a slave and 12 for the services of a courtesan. The beans were made into a frothy, bitter drink used primarily in religious ceremonies (with the exception of Montezuma!) and for a time drinking this xocalalt without permission from the Aztec royalty was illegal.

Today, the chemistry of chocolate is well known. Many scientists consider some of the chemicals within chocolate stimulants (particularly theobromine, the substance primarily responsible for the supposed mood-elevating effect of chocolate.)  I have to admit, I tasted quite a bit of chocolate in Oaxaca and didn’t feel any better about my stolen credit card or “fraudulant” debit card (thanks for cutting off my one source of money, USAA!) but I suppose chocolate can’t fix everything!

***

Mmmm, one of the most pleasantly smelly streets in Oaxaca is 20 de Noviembre. Unlike walking by a fish market, where every breath is torture, on this section where many of the large chocolate shops of Oaxaca lay you can see locals buying kilos of ground cacao beans, sugar, cinnamon and almonds. The sounds of grinders operating and the sweet smells alone make this street a favorite for tourists to Oaxaca and natives of Mexicans. Add in the free samples and the opportunity to purchase Oaxacan chocolate (far closer to the “original” Aztec chocolate than anything I’ve tasted in the States) and the street becomes near unmissable, especially for chocolate lovers.

I made quite a few purchases here: traditional chocolate, chocolate with little sugar, ground chocolate (used for making candies, drinks, or sauces) and a sampler platter of chocolate bars. Many of these I sent to people who sponsored me, but I made sure to save some pieces for myself… such are the duties of the blog!

Here in Mexico, people like their dulces with lots of sugar and the chocolate is no exception. Even when advertised as “low sugar” the chocolate was still very sweet! Also, I believe because all of the chocolate is ground in a large, fairly coarse machine, the resulting candy bars taste quite grainy and the chocolate doesn’t seem to “melt in your mouth.” None of this is to say the chocolate is bad! It’s just very different from the American style milk candy I’m used to.

To the right you can see the various candies I tried. There were several different manufacturers represented and a number of similarities in all of the chocolates. As mentioned earlier, everything was much grainier than I’m used to. The sugar melts quite fast, but I needed to chew the rest of the bar a bit to dissolve the chocolate (or maybe I’m just not patient enough.) Ground cinnamon and almond are ingredients in all of the different types of chocolate. The cinnamon adds a strong, rich taste and helps offset the bitterness of the dark chocolate. The ground almond was very subtle, adding only a slightly nutty taste that may have been my imagination.

I also had sampler bars infused with mocha and vanilla. The vanilla did not play well with the dark chocolate and was much too strong for my tastes. The mocha was better, despite my strong dislike for coffee. However, my favorite was still the “traditional” chocolate flavors. I think I preferred the grainy, hard, crumbly Oaxacan chocolate to the regular stuff, mostly because I really liked the complexity with different flavors melting at different times as I ate it. It doesn’t taste like a Hershey bar, though!

***
So I originally planned to head over to Puerto Escondido tomorrow. Due to these troubling bank issues, I might end up staying in Oaxaca for longer. As I’ve been here for 8 days already, I’m sort of itching to head out and try a change of pace. I’ll keep the “News” box on the front page updated with wherever I end up… wish me luck!