Thé, et du Chocolate. Dufour, 1693).] Montezuma--the First Great
Patron of Chocolate. When Columbus discovered the New World he
brought back with him to Europe many new and curious things, one
of which was cacao. Some years later, in 1519, the Spanish
conquistador, Cortes, landed in Mexico, marched into the
interior and discovered to his surprise, not the huts of
savages, but a beautiful city, with palaces and museums. This
city was the capital of the Aztecs, a remarkable people, notable
alike for their ancient civilisation and their wealth. Their
national drink was chocolate, and Montezuma, their Emperor, who
lived in a state of luxurious magnificence, "took no other
beverage than the chocolatl, a potation of chocolate, flavoured
with vanilla and other spices, and so prepared as to be reduced
to a froth of the consistency of honey, which gradually
dissolved in the mouth and was taken cold. This beverage if so
it could be called, was served in golden goblets, with spoo