Just try to get through a day without: 1. Chocolate Legions of chocoholics would argue that the Maya's "food of the gods," made from the toasted, fermented seeds of the cacao tree, is the New ...

Said to be a gift from the gods, cacao for the ancient Maya was considered sacred ... It's the progenitor plant of chocolate, and notions of luxury are embedded in its lore.

Instead they took their chocolate as a ceremonial elixir and a savory mood enhancer. For the Maya, cacao was a sacred gift of the gods, and cacao beans were used as currency. Ek Chuah, the Maya ...

Archaeologists have long known the Maya viewed cacao—the plant that chocolate comes from—as a gift from the gods and cultivated cacao trees in sacred groves, according to Archaeology.

The Maya usually consumed their cacao as a hot drink, a steamy broth served in a clay cup. One of the earliest depictions of it used in exchange dates to the mid-7th century.