The Latin name Theobroma, meaning ‘food of the gods,’ reflects cacao’s status as a sacred plant which gave access to the divine during rituals.

Archaeobotanical and iconographic evidence indicates that the Olmec and Maya peoples revered this plant as early as 600 BCE, using cacao in ritual practices, elite consumption, and long-distance trade. By the 14th century CE, the Mexica had also adopted cacao, associating it with elite status and ceremonial importance, valuing its characteristically bitter taste, and using its beans as a form of currency. Following Spanish colonization in the 16th century, cacao was taken to Europe, where its bitterness and long-standing prestige spurred interest, encouraged the addition of sweeteners, and supported its incorporation into expanding colonial trade systems.

Today, chocolate cultivation faces significant challenges, including climate vulnerability, soil degradation, and concerns about labor conditions within major cacao-producing regions.

Chocolate has become secularized and commercial, largely disconnected from the cultural and spiritual meanings that shaped its use for millennia.