IS XOCALATL A BITTERSWEET BEVERAGE?

I have started to indulge a craving for a fine Belgian type of healthy dark chocolate products called Xocai. The first part of the brand name is coming from the word "xocalatl" and the second part is related to the acai (açaí) fruit.


Xoçai™ products: X Power Squares & Nuggets.

The Aztecs called it "xocalatl," meaning warm or bitter liquid. They then started putting stuff in it. Not having perfected the s’more, and with sugar still an ocean away, they mixed water, chilies and cornmeal into their cacao drinks. No word whether they got into almonds, caramel, peanut butter, M&M's or Snicker’s bars (“Chocolate” btw, comes "xocalatl," which is from a combination of the choco ("foam") and atl ("water").) (History of chocolate, Olvera-Street.com.)

The chocolate products by MXI Corp. are produced with cacao that is not fermented or roasted. The cacao (kakao in Swedish) is sun-dried and the products are cold-pressed in order to retain the good cocoa stuff (cacao substance).



I am interested in reading Julia Pech's forthcoming book, The Chocolate Therapist: A User’s Guide to the Extraordinary Health Benefits of Chocolate.

I will mix up my own recipe of sipping chocolate beverage with a dash of chile pepper in the near future. I will call it something like "Marty's hot & spicy choco drink X"... It will be inspired by a scene from the movie, Chocolat, there you see Vianne Rocher prepare a chocolate drink with cayenne pepper for her customer, Armande Voizin.




I will end this post with a twist and use a quote from Michael Wilson's article, A Chocolate, With Amway Undertones, Networks Its Way Into New York.

Sharon Bush, the ex-wife of Neil Bush, George W. Bush’s brother, was a fixture in the tabloid headlines last year when her former fiancé, Gerald Tsai, sued her to get an 11-carat engagement ring returned. She spent most of the tasting sitting apart in the corner and said she preferred not to be interviewed.

But, she said afterward, “You can say that I think it’s very tasty.” (The New York Times, May 9, 2009.)

[Editor's comment: Beat around the Bush?!] Fore more information on cacao, cocoa and chocolate, check out these links.