An Amuzgo indigenous woman wraps a chocolate ball made of raw cacao paste into a cacao tree leaf in artisanal chocolate manufacture in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico.
An Amuzgo indigenous woman roasts cacao beans on a clay plate over fire in artisanal chocolate manufacture in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico.
An Amuzgo indigenous woman, together with her husband, wraps chocolate balls made of raw cacao paste into cacao tree leaves in artisanal chocolate manufacture in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico.
An Amuzgo indigenous woman shakes a winnowing bowl, tossing the crushed cacao beans into the air and catching them as they fall back to separate lighter outer shells from the cacao seeds, in artisanal chocolate manufacture in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico.
An Amuzgo indigenous woman rolls the raw cacao paste with hands into balls, used for hot chocolate preparation, in artisanal chocolate manufacture in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico.
A Mexican man grinds panela (unrefined cane sugar) on a metate (a mealing stone) in artisanal chocolate manufacture in Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico.
A cacao pod is seen growing on a cacao tree in a traditional mixed cropping plantation near Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico.
Chocolate from Mexico
Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, Mexico – November 2021
The craft of chocolate making in Mesoamerica, where the cacao tree is native, may be traced back to pre-Hispanic times. The form of how the Olmecs, the Mayas, and then the Aztecs used to process cacao beans and drink a cacao beverage has not changed significantly. In the rural areas of Southern Mexico, the indigenous communities still maintain, with a minimal contribution of the modern era’s tools, the ancient tradition of hand-crafted chocolate alive.
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