Cocoa residues found on Ecuadorian pottery, people may have first ingested the plant 5,000 years ago. It is most likely that the tree was domesticated in the upper Amazon region before spreading northward. The Maya, Toltec, and Aztec peoples extensively grew it more than 3,000 years ago, and they also utilised the bean as cash and to make a beverage (possibly as a ceremonial drink). The Aztec drink was produced from shelled beans that had been sun-dried and perhaps fermented in their pods. The cracked Cocoa Market kernels, also known as nibs, were first roasted in earthen pots before being mashed into a paste in a concave stone tool called a metate over a small fire. In addition to adding vanilla and different herbs and spices, corn (maize) was occasionally used to provide a softer flavour. The mixture was shaped into little cakes and allowed to cool before setting up under a tree on glossy leaves to harden.
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