ORIGIN Cacao dates back to at least 3000 years to the time of the Olmec civilisation that lived in now south-central Mexico. The Mayans followed the Olmecs, who focused their lives around this special plant. They used cacao in ceremonies and used it as a way to communicate with their Gods. The baptism ritual for boys and girls involved cacao. The Mayans were the first major civilisation to use cacao beans as currency. The word cacao comes from its original name kakaw. It was often consumed in liquid form. When the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes landed in 1519, it is ...
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