Until then, chocolate only existed in Mesoamerica in a form quite different from what we know.

直到 16 世紀之前，巧克力就只有存在於中美洲而已，而且還跟我們現在對巧克力的認知大不相同。

As far back as 1900 B.C.E., the people of that region had learned to prepare the beans of the native cacao tree.

時光倒回至西元前 1900 年，當時生活於中美洲的人已經學會調製當地原生可可樹所生長出的可可豆。

The earliest records tell us the beans were ground and mixed with cornmeal and chili peppers to create a drink - not a relaxing cup of hot cocoa, but a bitter, invigorating concoction frothing with foam.

最早的文獻指出，當時的人會把可可豆磨碎，再混合玉米粉和辣椒調配成一種飲品。這種飲品並非我們現代人常喝的那種療愈人心的熱巧克力，而是一種帶有泡沫，口味苦澀的提神飲料。

And if you thought we make a big deal about chocolate today, the Mesoamericans had us beat.

如果你以為身處現代的我們對巧克力的煉製已經達到出神入化的境界了，我只能說當時的中美洲人可是更勝我們一籌。

They believed that cacao was a heavenly food gifted to humans by a feathered serpent God, known to the Maya as Kukulkan and to the Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl.

當時的中美洲人視可可為神賜之物。他們相信可可是由一個外表長得像蛇一樣，身上帶有羽毛的神——「羽蛇神」所賜， 當地的馬雅人稱這個神為「庫庫爾坎」；而阿茲特克人則稱之為「克察爾科亞特爾」。

Aztecs used cacao beans as currency and drank chocolate at royal feasts, gave it to soldiers as a reward for success in battle, and used it in rituals.

阿茲特克人除了把可可豆當作貨幣使用外，也會在皇室盛宴上飲用可可豆所作成的巧克力調液， 還會用可可豆獎賞打勝仗的士兵， 或把可可豆用於祭祀的儀式上。

The first transatlantic chocolate encounter occurred in 1519 when Hernán Cortés visited the court of Moctezuma at Tenochtitlan.

歐洲人是在 1519 年第一次接觸到巧克力。當時，埃爾南·科爾特斯（西班牙殖民者）造訪古代墨西哥阿茲特克帝國的特諾奇提特蘭君主蒙特蘇馬的皇宮。

As recorded by Cortés's lieutenant, the King had 50 jugs of the drink brought out and poured into golden cups.

根據科爾特斯隨行軍官的紀要，國王蒙特蘇馬當時命人搬出了 50 壺巧克力調液，然後把這些調液倒入黃金色的杯子中。

When the colonists returned with shipments of the strange new bean, missionaries' salacious accounts of native customs gave it a reputation as an aphrodisiac.

當這位歐洲殖民者將這種人們從未見過的豆子，一船一船地載回到歐洲後，隨船傳教士對中美洲當地人風俗無比淫穢的描述，讓可可豆染上了「催情藥」的色彩。

At first, its bitter taste made it suitable as a medicine for ailments, like upset stomachs, but sweetening it with honey, sugar, or vanilla quickly made chocolate a popular delicacy in the Spanish court.

剛開始在歐洲的時候，由於可可豆帶有苦味，所以人們普遍認為可可豆很適合用來製作治療輕微病痛的藥材，像是肚子痛等症狀， 可是後來陸續有人加入蜂蜜、糖、還有香草後，巧克力便迅速在當時的西班牙宮廷裡掀起了一股「甜蜜」旋風。

And soon, no aristocratic home was complete without dedicated chocolate ware.

過沒多久，西班牙當地每一戶上流家庭裡都可以看到巧克力專用壺的身影。

The fashionable drink was difficult and time consuming to produce on a large scale.

可是以當時的技術來說，要量產這種時尚飲料是一項困難且耗時的大工程。

That involved using plantations and imported slave labor in the Caribbean and on islands off the coast of Africa.

因為除了需要開闢種植園栽種可可豆之外，還需要從加勒比海和非洲附近的島嶼引進奴隸做工。

The world of chocolate would change forever in 1828 with the introduction of the cocoa press by Coenraad van Houten of Amsterdam.

時間來到 1828 年，來自荷蘭阿姆斯特丹的范‧ 豪頓發明了可可壓榨機，從此大大改變了巧克力的世界。

Van Houten's invention could separate the cocoa's natural fat, or cocoa butter. This left a powder that could be mixed into a drinkable solution or recombined with the cocoa butter to create the solid chocolate we know today.

范‧ 豪頓的這個發明成功將可可豆的天然油脂（或稱可可脂）與可可粉末分離。榨取後的可可粉末可以摻入液體做成飲料，或重新和可可脂融合成我們所熟知的塊狀巧克力。

Not long after, a Swiss chocolatier named Daniel Peter added powdered milk to the mix, thus inventing milk chocolate.

在范‧ 豪頓的發明問世之後沒多久，瑞士有個叫做丹尼爾・彼得的職業巧克力家把奶粉加到既有的巧克力裡面， 發明出了牛奶巧克力。

By the 20th century, chocolate was no longer an elite luxury but had become a treat for the public.

到了 20 世紀的時候，巧克力不再專屬於上流社會所享用，而是民間垂手可得的美食。

Meeting the massive demand required more cultivation of cocoa, which can only grow near the equator.

市場對於巧克力的龐大需求讓可可豆的栽種業更加興旺，然而可可豆的栽種則只能夠在赤道的鄰近地帶進行。

Now, instead of African slaves being shipped to South American cocoa plantations, cocoa production itself would shift to West Africa with Côte d'Ivoire providing two-fifths of the world's cocoa as of 2015.

以往的做法都是從非洲引進奴隸到南美洲的種植園來栽種可可豆， 現在則是直接把種植園遷移到西非。截至 2015 年，光是象牙海岸的巧克力產量就佔了世界可可總產量的五分之二（40%）。

Yet along with the growth of the industry, there have been horrific abuses of human rights.

但是，蒸蒸日上的巧克力產業背後卻隱藏著駭人聽聞的人權侵害事件。

Many of the plantations throughout West Africa, which supply Western companies, use slave and child labor, with an estimation of more than 2 million children affected.

許多專門供貨給西方巧克力批發商的西非種植園會利用奴隸及童工來進行種植， 一項統計更指出，有超過 2 百萬個孩童被這些不肖種植園所迫害。

This is a complex problem that persists despite efforts from major chocolate companies to partner with African nations to reduce child and indentured labor practices.

雖然有許多大型巧克力批發商試圖藉由跟非洲國家合作來達到減少童工以及契約勞工剝削問題，但人權侵害的問題到今天還是存在著。

Today, chocolate has established itself in the rituals of our modern culture. Due to its colonial association with native cultures, combined with the power of advertising, chocolate retains an aura of something sensual, decadent, and forbidden.

在我們當今的文化裡，巧克力早已成為了不可或缺的一部分。但由於巧克力本身包含著對於原住民文化的殖民色彩， 又加上廣告的大肆渲染，巧克力在現代仍然是一個帶著「性暗示」、 「頹靡」， 以及「禁忌」等等負面印象的食品。

Yet knowing more about its fascinating and often cruel history, as well as its production today, tells us where these associations originate and what they hide.

但是透過了解巧克力過去光明與黑暗的歷史，還有今時今日巧克力的生產過程， 我們就可以更清楚的知道這些負面印象的起源，還有這些負面印象背後所隱藏的涵義是什麼。

So as you unwrap your next bar of chocolate, take a moment to consider that not everything about chocolate is sweet.

看完這則故事，也許我們下次打開巧克力，大口大口吃下去時更能嚐出香甜的巧克力裡面那份辛酸的苦澀。