We know chocolate in its limitless varieties as a delicious, feel-good dessert. And now, there’s plenty of research to prove the health benefits of chocolate and how eating it in can improve your mood, reduce stress and is safe for people with diabetes. I know very few people who do not like chocolate. (Gasp!) But I also know too many people who cannot say no to this little piece of heaven, this food of the gods. The history of Xocolatl or Chocolate So how exactly did chocolate come into this world and make it a better place? In Latin, the cacao tree is called Theobroma cacao, which literally means food of the gods. It is believed that the Mayans of Central America were the first to discover cocoa in 900 AD although there’s evidence that cocoa beans were used by the Olmec culture in the pre-classic period. The origin of the word chocolate can be traced to the Mayan word xocoatl or XOCOLATL pronounced as shoh-KWAH-tul which means bitter water. They harvested the beans inside the pods and made them into a liquid that was considered a treasured Mayan treat. This was basically a bitter drink brewed from cacao beans. They …