Authentic Mexican Hot Cocoa

Host: Now, we know that chocolate makes you feel great. But haven't you wondered when our passion for chocolate began and where it all started. Well chocolate didn’t begin as a bar or a drink. It began simply as a little bean that grew in a pod on a tree. What we know as chocolate originally from cacao trees which we’re and still are cultivated in Mexico, Central and South America. It was the Olmec civilization who first cultivated the cacao tree in the Gulf of Mexico around 500 B.C. the Olmec vanished but not without passing on the secret of the cacao bean to the Mayan’s who made into a frothy drink. The Mayan may have traded the cacao bean with the Aztec. But the Aztec’s believed that the cacao tree was a gift from heaven. They believe that their God quest Secodo traveled on the beam of a morning star to deliver the cacao tree to his people. Now rumor has it that the Aztec emperor Moctezuma drank no less than 50 goblets of chocolate a day in order to service his herome of 500 women, wouldn’t that be amazing? I mean not the herome part, yeah. But the chocolate part, let’s see if we can find someone that can make us the original chocolate drink, as close to be original as possible. Soledad Lopez: My name is Soledad Lopez. I'm the owner of Guelaguetza Restaurant in Los Angeles. Host: Boy did we get lucky. Soledad not only runs an authentic Oaxacan restaurant she is from Oaxaca Mexico where chocolate is just as important today as it was for the Mayan’s and Aztec’s. Soledad along with two helpers Berta and Dora volunteered to show use how they're ancestors made the famous chocolate drink that started it all. Now, why are we heating this clay thing now? Because we’re going to roast— Soledad Lopez: Because we use it to roast the cacao bean. Host: And you roast it over an open fire. We roast chestnuts over an open fire. Soledad Lopez: Oh, really? Host: Yeah, much as what we do. We roasted the beans for two hours before we moved on to the next step of grinding them. The beans we’re ground on heated limestone so that they would soften. It wasn’t as easy as it look. Dora showed me the roll before I stepped in to give it a try. What if I mess up? Was that all right? Soledad Lopez: Yes. Host: Am I messing it up its okay, and thank you. Soledad Lopez: You got it, you got it. Host: That’s like it. Soledad Lopez: More professional. Host: I'm getting it. Soledad Lopez: Don’t keep talking just concentrate on what you're doing. Host: I'm not talking. Soledad Lopez: Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up. Host: I'm doing it, doing it. Soledad Lopez: I can do, I can finish it if you want. Host: Can I see what it looks like when you do it, just to see. This may have been the way the Mayan’s and Aztec’s made their chocolate drink but it was grueling. I also learned that men don’t traditionally grind the cacao been which had Berta in stitches. Berta thinks it funny that a man does this, right Berta? You think it’s funny. Berta: Much more like this. Host: Much like this. It took us about 50 passes on the grinding stone to get us to the consistency we needed for our next step. Once the ground cacao was like cookie dough, cinnamon and spices we’re added to enhance the flavor. Next, it was molded into little disk and set out to dry. The harden disks were then dissolved in hot water and whipped with a device called the molinillo. This things inside are actually getting the air into the product. Soledad Lopez: Can you hold it here, there you hold it. Host: This was a little warm. Soledad Lopez: Then you roll it. Host: Yeah, you go it’s just like that. No, you do it this is great, do it. The chocolate drink that took us all day to prepare was finally ready. Soledad Lopez: That’s a good chocolate. Host: It’s beautiful. Soledad Lopez: Be careful because this is warm. Host: Cheers, thank you Soledad. Oh, my God that’s amazing, very good. Thank you. Soledad Lopez: You see what you did. Host: Cool, yeah its amazing. This is very good. Soledad Lopez: All it worth for the day. Host: Oh, I could feel, you could feel it in you, this is very special. Soledad I have a feeling the Aztec’s and the Mayan’s have a good time. Soledad Lopez: Very good time.