Who was the first to eat chocolate? Who brought it to China?

The earliest appearance of chocolate originated from a food containing cocoa powder among the ancient Indians of the Mexican region. The Maya, a branch of the Indians of Central America and Mexico, used the cacao bean as a valuable daily item**. In 1519, the Aztecs of Mexico discovered that roasted and ground cocoa beans, water, and sweeteners made a delicious drink.

This was followed in the 18th century by the advent of the chocolate bar, milk chocolate. Q: Why is dark chocolate better than white chocolate or milk chocolate?

A: The health factor of chocolate is mainly due to the flavonoids in raw cocoa beans, and the cocoa content in dark chocolate is much higher than that of white chocolate and milk chocolate, so it is said that eating dark chocolate is healthier than the latter two. Studies have found that eating dark chocolate can increase the level of antioxidants in the human body, which is effective in preventing the occurrence of heart disease.

At the same time, dark chocolate also increases blood flow to the brain, which has a refreshing effect; Improves blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes. The benefits of these dark chocolates are enough to make it a part of the healthy life of modern humans. Q:

What are the health benefits of dark chocolate? A: Dark chocolate may enhance heart health and reduce cholesterol Q:

The more chocolate, the better? A: You won't gain weight by eating chocolate, but you will lose weight in excess.

Don't forget that it comes with fat, sugar, and calories, so you can't binge eat it. Q: Why do some chocolates boast on their labels about what percentage of cocoa they contain?

A: The higher the cocoa content, the more concentrated flavonoids will be. For example, a more delicate milk chocolate has 50% cocoa, while other bargains may contain only 7%.

When choosing dark chocolate, you should choose one that contains at least 70% cocoa, which is rich in healthy flavonoids.

In ancient times, the Indians ground the cocoa fruit into flour and mixed it with corn flour and chili powder to make a slightly bitter batter for daily food. By the 14th century, the Mexicans added sugar, vanilla and other spices to cocoa powder to make a sweet and delicious hard candy, which was the prototype of chocolate. It wasn't until the 17th century that chocolate was introduced to Europe.

Europeans not only learned how to make chocolate, but also innovated to improve the taste of chocolate, thus establishing the reputation of European chocolate as the world's most important chocolate exporter. According to the Qing Dynasty archives of China's First Historical Archives, in the forty-fourth year of Kangxi's reign, chocolate entered China. So who was the first chocolate to eat?

In 1705, Pope XI sent his envoy Doro to China as a missionary. Emperor Kangxi was very interested in Western culture, and whenever a foreigner came to China, he had to meet Pan Huan. On July 2, He Shiheng, the director of Wuyingdian, who was in charge of receiving and taking care of Doro's daily life, conveyed to Doro the "meaning" of Emperor Kangxi.

More than Rome "obeyed" and presented some Western treasures to the Kangxi Emperor, including a small fine tin box containing 150 pieces of chocolate. He Shiheng, the director of Wu Yingdian, imitated the eating method of Westerners, and asked craftsmen to make a set of ** utensils, and also made a special skewer for mixing with boxwood. He selected 50 pieces of chocolate from 150 pieces, put them in a special wicker box, and presented them with his own folds.

After Emperor Kangxi looked at the utensils, chocolates and folds presented one by one, he ordered his subordinates to prepare them immediately. I saw that the subordinate carefully took out two pieces of chocolate, put them in a silver jar, poured in the boiling jade spring water, added sugar, stirred slightly, and poured into a double-eared jade dragon cup. Suddenly, a strange fragrance filled the entire room, and even the little eunuch outside the door couldn't stop swallowing.

Emperor Kangxi picked up the cup and saw the black soup inside, and frowned unconsciously. Smelled it, took a sip to his mouth: bitter with astringency, astringent with sweet, what kind of taste is this?

The people around couldn't help but be a little nervous when they saw Emperor Kangxi frowning. It was only when he saw that he took two more sips and nodded thoughtfully, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and he was relieved. "It turns out that foreigners drink this thing every day, ** our Longjing tea is delicious!

Ah-haha" Emperor Kangxi picked up He Shiheng's recital and looked at it, and then picked up the pen and commented, "The sweet and bitter taste is hot, but I didn't write what benefits and what diseases to cure, but I didn't do it well, so I asked again."

On July 7, Hesch again announced: "Chocolate is not a medicine, it is used like tea in America, and it is drunk once or twice a day. The elderly, those with stomach deficiency, those with cold stomach, those with diarrhea, and those with stomach congestion can drink it to help the stomach eliminate appetite and have great benefits.

People with internal fever, tuberculosis, asthma, hemorrhoids and bleeding, diarrhea and blood should not drink it. "Emperor Kangxi only began to drink it regularly.

The first person in China to buy chocolate. But he gave the opportunity to a dog.