Theobroma cacao, the cocoa tree, the coauantree, was first cultivated in Central America by the Mayas of Yucatan and the Aztecs of Mexico. The Aztecs believed the tree to be of divine origin, a belief reflected in the appellation Theobroma - Food of the Gods' - given to he genus by Linnaeus. A preparation, chocolat, made by mixing roasted ground cocoa nibs with water, maize and spice, was consumed as a luxury in the court of the Aztec emperor Mon tezuma and was widely thought to have aphrodisiac properties