Chocolate
From Pharmacopedia
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Plant Medicine, Excitantia, Caffeine plant
Chocolate
Theobroma cacao
Chocolate is the fermented seed of Theobroma cacao (genus name = "food of the gods," Linnaeus's coinage). First cultivated by the Olmecs (~1500 BCE) and central to Mesoamerican cosmology — Aztec yollotl-eztli ("heart-blood") was its poetic name. Drunk frothed and bitter, often as a soldier's ration before battle. Brought to Europe by the Spanish in the 16th century and slowly tamed with sugar.
Coffee, Tea, Caffeine
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Summary
Classes
Plant Medicine, Excitantia, Caffeine plant
Common uses
Mood enhancement0, Cardiovascular flavonoids0
Pharmacy
Preparations
Fermented and roasted seeds, ground. Mexican tradition: drunk with chili, cornmeal, achiote. European tradition: with sugar and milk
Pharmacology
Routes
Oral
Purported mechanism
Primary alkaloid is theobromine (3,7-dimethylxanthine), with minor caffeine. Also contains phenethylamine, anandamide (an endogenous cannabinoid), tryptophan (serotonin precursor), and flavanols. The combined effect is mild stimulation + mood elevation.
“Pendell's corner
That the poets drank chocolate is clear. Foamy chocolate. Flowery chocolate. So they could share flowery songs, dream-stirring songs.
— Dale Pendell, Pharmako/Dynamis, p. 245