National Cocoa Day Cuckoo for cocoa? December 12 is National
Cocoa Day! The weather outside may be frightful, but cozying up
with a mug of hot cocoa can make the day more delightful. The
Mayans are first credited with cultivating the cacao bean to
brew xocoatl, an unsweetened version of modern-day hot
chocolate. Much later in the 17th century, Spanish doctor
Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma published the first recipe as an
elixir, adding different spices to treat a number of ailments.
Even President George Washington washed down his breakfast of
cornmeal hoe cakes with a cup of hot chocolate. Even though "hot
chocolate" and "hot cocoa" are often used interchangeably,
purists stress that there is a difference. Hot chocolate is made
from mixing heated water or milk with melted chocolate pieces,
while hot cocoa is made from cocoa powder and warmed water or
milk. In 1828, Dutch chemist Coenraad Van Houten patented his
process of extracting some of the cocoa butter from the beans,
leaving behind a cocoa powder with a