the first time europeans saw chocolate was in the 16th century when montezuma (who was ruler of the aztec then) showed "xocolatl" to hernán cortés, a spanish conquistador. what the spanish then called "chocolatl" was said to be a drink made of a chocolate base with vanilla and other spices that was served cold. montezuma's rulers have been said to drink about 2000 cups of "xocolatl" per day, 50 of which were drank by montezuma himself.