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cost of producing a goblet of Montezuma's cocoa beverage?
bobbie sellers wrote:
> On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:02:37 -0500,Matt Giwer, wrote > >> wrote: >>> Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened) >>> cocoa beverage before entering his harem. >>> a goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in pre-mechanized society. >>> Even if the laborers were nominally slaves, they had to be fed, >>> clothed, housed, etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are >>> normally well kept. >>> Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of a goblet of >>> Monteuma's cocoa drink? >> One presumes what about the nature of the drink? Was it made from >> the bean? Did it contain leaves? How was it prepared? One presumes it >> was whatever they considered the best quality but we have no idea what >> they thought that was. If we are just talking the bean the preparation >> is trivial independent of the quality of the bean. Consider it like >> gourmet coffee. Other than civet coffee it is all the same process. >> >> And then who made it? The cost would be the cost of keeping that >> person employed or alive or whatever. Clearly it would cost more if a >> priest made it than a slave but it could have been a cheap apprentice >> priest and slave for display who had to be kept in expensive clothing >> to show of the emperor wealth. >> >> And a dozen other factors such as did the great beans grow in his >> backyard or in the farthest reaches of the empire? >> >> All of this means we may never know what it cost. And if my some >> miracle we found all the factors above translating that into dollars >> would be near impossible because the basis for the economy was entirely >> different. In a well-run economy slaves cost more than share-croppers. >> In a hierarchical system with great rewards at the top an apprentice >> priest may work for scraps for the opportunity. > > From the chocolate FAQ: > > 1.1 What is chocolate? Where does it come from? > > Chocolate is a food made from the seeds of a tropical tree called > the cacao. These trees flourish in warm, moist climates. Most of the > world's cacao beans come from West Africa, where Ghana, the Ivory Coast > and Nigeria are the largest producers. Because of a spelling error, > probably by English traders long ago, these beans became known as cocoa > beans. > > -=-=-=-=- > > 1.2 What is the history of chocolate? > > (Excerpted with permission from the Godiva WWW site) > > * In 600 A.D. the Mayans migrated into the northern regions of South > America, establishing the earliest known cocoa plantations in the Yucatan. > It has been argued that the Mayans had been familiar with cocoa several > centuries prior to this date. They considered it a valuable commodity, > used both as a means of payment and as units of calculation. > > * Mayans and Aztecs took beans from the "cacao" tree and made a drink they > called "xocolatl." Aztec Indian legend held that cacao seeds had been > brought from Paradise and that wisdom and power came from eating the fruit > of the cacao tree.. > > * The word "chocolate" is said to derive from the Mayan "xocolatl"; cacao > from the Aztec "cacahuatl". The Mexican Indian word "chocolate" comes from > a combination of the terms choco ("foam") and atl ("water"); early > chocolate was only consumed in beverage form. > > In addition it has been said that the Aztec preparation included > corn meal. > > As for how much it cost it was a luxury on the order of > a fine wine for the Aztec and use was reserved to the powerful. > > later > bliss -- C O C O A Powered... (at california dot com) > > -- > bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco > > "It is by will alone I set my mind in motion. > It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed, > the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning. > It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion." > --from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste. How much of this can I believe since the quote doesn't even get the geography right? |
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