One of the best writen books I have read. Truthfull and soundly based, it is a monument for MS Coe.I was very disappointed at how the author managed to taint a fascinating story with his own personal biases. His relentless attacks on the Spanish, the Catholic Church and the whole of the Catholic world was offensive. When I was being educated in the 50’s and 60’s, this sort of anglocentrism was standard. Today, it is inexcusable. No matter what excesses the Spanish or other Catholics committed in the Americas, the English (along with their American apologists) and Protestants in general have no higher ground to stand on. In Latin America, there still exist large and vibrant native populations. In North America (where I live), Native Americans are few in number an relegated to tiny patches of land. How did the englightened Protestants allow this to happen?
Back to Mr Coe’s writing, he was relentless (not to mention tiresome) in assigning negative adjective to all things and persons Spanish or Catholic. Instead of celebrating the Spanish adoption of chocolate, it was treated as theft. Rather than giving credit to Catholics for introducing it to Europe, they are demonized as a corrupt elite. When Protestant Europe happens upon chocolate, the author is effusive in his praise. When chocolate becomes part of the English Industrial Revolution, Mr Coe ignores all of England’s crimes against humanity and heaps compliments upon its chocolate-making and merchandising.
Had the book provided the history of chocolate outside the context of religion, it might have been wonderful. Regrettably, it is bogged down by unnecessary prejudices and facile evaluations of persons, peoples and societies. I would not recommend this book to anyone, Protestant or Catholic.I really enjoyed this book and learning about the Mayan / Aztec custom of Cocoa, how it was prepared, grown and used in their society. How the Europeans learned of this exotic “bean” and slowly adopted it. But as being a member of the Food Industry, the book was very light on the modern history of chocolate, how it is prepared and the changes that chocolate went through the last two hundred years. Felt a little robbed at the end.I love chocolate. Honestly, I don’t know anyone in my circle of friends who doesn’t. so when I saw that there was an entire book dedicated to discussing it, well… it was a short walk to the counter. This is a fascinating history. I didn’t read the second edition, but I can’t imagine it’s too different from the first, which was a quick and easy read, and full of entertaining anecdotes.This is not the easiest of reads because the style is a little dry and academic. However, this is a serious book and an enormous amount of research has gone into it. Be warned that the first third of the book is set in pre-conquest Latin America and, unless you are a student of the period, it can be quite hard going handling the geography, history and difficult names all at one time! That aside, this is a book for readers that have a serious interest in the roots of cacao and chocolate. Such readers will be well rewarded by this book. In addition, if you are interested in more information about cacao itself, then also read Allen Young’s The Chocolate Tree – a Natural History of Chocolate. It’s more difficult to read than this one, but no less important.
“A beautifully written…and illustrated history of the Food of the Gods, from Olmecs to present-day developments.”—Chocolatier
This delightful and best-selling tale of one of the world’s favorite foods draws upon botany, archaeology, and culinary history to present a complete and accurate history of chocolate.
The story begins some 3,000 years ago in the jungles of Mexico and Central America with the chocolate tree, Theobroma Cacao, and the complex processes necessary to transform its bitter seeds into what is now known as chocolate. This was centuries before chocolate was consumed in generally unsweetened liquid form and used as currency by the Maya, and the Aztecs after them. The Spanish conquest of Central America introduced chocolate to Europe, where it first became the drink of kings and aristocrats and then was popularized in coffeehouses. Industrialization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries made chocolate a food for the masses, and now, in our own time, it has become once again a luxury item.
The second edition draws on recent research and genetic analysis to update the information on the origins of the chocolate tree and early use by the Maya and others, and there is a new section on the medical and nutritional benefits of chocolate. 100 illustrations, 15 in color.The Coes, both anthropologists with a culinary bent, delve deeply into the history of their mouth-watering subject. The material on ancient cultures is particularly fascinating–did you know that the Maya used unsweetened liquid chocolate as currency? And in a chapter called “Chocolate for the Masses,” they detail the modernization of chocolate manufacture, which has allowed more than 25 million Hershey’s Kisses to roll off the conveyor belt each day.. read more.
Tags: Chocolate, Edition, History, Second, True