is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical
Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in
Mexico,
Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC. The majority of the
Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, including the
Aztecs, who made it into a beverage known as
xocolātl [ʃo'kolaːt͡ɬ], a
Nahuatl word meaning "bitter water". The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense
bitter taste, and must be
fermented to develop the flavor.
Chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavors in
the world. Gifts of chocolate molded into different shapes have become
traditional on certain holidays: chocolate bunnies and
eggs are popular on Easter, chocolate coins on
Hanukkah,
Santa Claus and other holiday symbols on Christmas, and chocolate
hearts or chocolate in heart-shaped boxes on
Valentine's Day. Chocolate is also used in cold and hot beverages, to produce
chocolate milk and
hot chocolate.
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