BROADCASTS.com

Ah, chocolate. What a life.

According to the Aztecs, the great feathered serpent god of wisdom and creation known as Quetzalcoatl introduced the cocoa bean to mankind. It\u2019s likelier that\xa0it originated in the Amazon rainforest and wound its way north to Mesoamerica, whose inhabitants figured out they could domesticate, ferment, roast, crush, and mix cocoa with water, chilies, and spices to produce a bitter, intoxicating drink.\xa0It then took a boat across the Atlantic, learning Spanish along the way. Europe wasn\u2019t sure what to make of the bitterness until someone spilled a little sugar into the drink.\xa0Cocoa quickly swept across the continent, giving rise to large corporations that persist to this day, like Cadbury, Nestle, Hershey, and Lindt.

(This Mark's Daily Apple article was written by Mark Sisson, and is narrated by Tina Leaman)