Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.

a goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in pre-mechanized society.
Even if the laborers were nominally slaves, they had to be fed,
clothed, housed, etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are
normally well kept.

Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of a goblet of
Monteuma's cocoa drink?

Why..????

Do you have a "Harem"..????

wayne ;-) george
============
wrote in message
oups.com...
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.

a goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in pre-mechanized society.
Even if the laborers were nominally slaves, they had to be fed,
clothed, housed, etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are
normally well kept.

Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of a goblet of
Monteuma's cocoa drink?

On Feb 11, 8:22 am, wrote:
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.

Leave it to a harem-keeper to think 'more is better'.

oldwifetale wrote:
On Feb 11, 8:22 am, wrote:
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.

Leave it to a harem-keeper to think 'more is better'.


well, duh!
and yes, especially if my wife would let me get away with it!!!

On Feb 11, 4:22 pm, wrote:
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.

a goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in pre-mechanized society.
Even if the laborers were nominally slaves, they had to be fed,
clothed, housed, etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are
normally well kept.

Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of a goblet of
Monteuma's cocoa drink?

The cocoa would have contained a high proportion of cocaine.

Apart from being soporific, it would have caused erectile dysfunction.

He should have slept in the spare room.

Cormac

cormac wrote:
On Feb 11, 4:22 pm, wrote:
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.

a goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in pre-mechanized society.
Even if the laborers were nominally slaves, they had to be fed,
clothed, housed, etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are
normally well kept.

Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of a goblet of
Monteuma's cocoa drink?

The cocoa would have contained a high proportion of cocaine.

Apart from being soporific, it would have caused erectile dysfunction.

He should have slept in the spare room.

Cormac

I can't find any referrence of cocaine being present in
cocoa. Caffein, yes, but not cocaine.

"dances_with_barka..." wrote:
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank fifty goblets of
(non-sweetened) cocoa beverage before entering his
harem.

Cortes wasn't very good at "estimating" a lot of "facts"
about indigenous Mesoamerican cultures.

I'd also like to know how many ounces of beverage
the goblet contained.

This source says that he drank up to fifty cups in
the course of any given day, not in a concentrated
period immediately preceding intercourse with his
wives:

http://tinyurl.com/29t6py

A goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in
pre-mechanized society. Even if the laborers were
nominally slaves, they had to be fed, clothed, housed,
etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are
normally well kept.

Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of
a goblet of Montezuma's cocoa drink?

The Mexica and the Maya used cacao beans as one
form of currency, so in effect, Moctezuma The Second
(Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin) was drinking money.

http://www.chocolatesource.com/trivia/index.asp

http://www.chocolate.org/montezuma.html

http://www.elcastillodelcacao.com/cacao.html

- - - - - -
TODD TAMANEND CLARK
Poet/Composer/Multi-Instrumentalist/Cultural Historian
The Monongahela River, Turtle Island
http://cdbaby.com/all/primalpulse
http://myspace.com/toddtamanendclark
http://rateyourmusic.com/~Todd_Clark

VtSkier wrote:


I can't find any referrence of cocaine being present in
cocoa. Caffein, yes, but not cocaine.

The coke is in the leaf, not the seed.

Bob Kolker

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:28:48 -0500, Bob Kolker wrote:

VtSkier wrote:


I can't find any referrence of cocaine being present in
cocoa. Caffein, yes, but not cocaine.

The coke is in the leaf, not the seed.

Bob Kolker

Um, guys? You're confusing two entirely different plants:

Coca (from whence comes cocaine) - Erythroxylum coca
Cocoa (from whence comes chocolate) - Theobroma cacao

BK (back to lurk mode)

Bob Kolker wrote:
VtSkier wrote:


I can't find any referrence of cocaine being present in
cocoa. Caffein, yes, but not cocaine.

The coke is in the leaf, not the seed.

Bob Kolker

Uhm, you sure?

Cocaine is in the leaf of the coca plant.
Cocoa come from the cocoa plant. AFAIK
not the same plant.

BK wrote:
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:28:48 -0500, Bob Kolker wrote:

VtSkier wrote:

I can't find any referrence of cocaine being present in
cocoa. Caffein, yes, but not cocaine.
The coke is in the leaf, not the seed.

Bob Kolker

Um, guys? You're confusing two entirely different plants:

Coca (from whence comes cocaine) - Erythroxylum coca
Cocoa (from whence comes chocolate) - Theobroma cacao

BK (back to lurk mode)

That's what I was getting at, but thanks.

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 08:11:38 -0500,VtSkier, wrote

BK wrote:
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 07:28:48 -0500, Bob Kolker wrote:

VtSkier wrote:

I can't find any referrence of cocaine being present in
cocoa. Caffein, yes, but not cocaine.
The coke is in the leaf, not the seed.

Bob Kolker

Um, guys? You're confusing two entirely different plants:

Coca (from whence comes cocaine) - Erythroxylum coca
Cocoa (from whence comes chocolate) - Theobroma cacao

BK (back to lurk mode)

That's what I was getting at, but thanks.

And I knew the difference and thank you too BK. This is
a fairly common misunderstanding because of the similarity
of the sound of the names. Also the amount of caffine in
cocoa or cacao is rather small and if Moctezuma drank it for
the caffiene he would have to go thru 50 cups a day.

As for drinking money when drinking cocoa that is the fact
with all beverages, Even water costs a lot these days.

later
bliss -- C O C O A Powered... (at california dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

wrote:
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.

a goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in pre-mechanized society.
Even if the laborers were nominally slaves, they had to be fed,
clothed, housed, etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are
normally well kept.

Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of a goblet of
Monteuma's cocoa drink?

One presumes what about the nature of the drink? Was it made from the bean? Did
it contain leaves? How was it prepared? One presumes it was whatever they
considered the best quality but we have no idea what they thought that was. If
we are just talking the bean the preparation is trivial independent of the
quality of the bean. Consider it like gourmet coffee. Other than civet coffee it
is all the same process.

And then who made it? The cost would be the cost of keeping that person
employed or alive or whatever. Clearly it would cost more if a priest made it
than a slave but it could have been a cheap apprentice priest and slave for
display who had to be kept in expensive clothing to show of the emperor wealth.

And a dozen other factors such as did the great beans grow in his backyard or
in the farthest reaches of the empire?

All of this means we may never know what it cost. And if my some miracle we
found all the factors above translating that into dollars would be near
impossible because the basis for the economy was entirely different. In a
well-run economy slaves cost more than share-croppers. In a hierarchical system
with great rewards at the top an apprentice priest may work for scraps for the
opportunity.

--
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired
signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed,
those who are cold and not clothed." archliberal Dwight David Eisenhower
-- The Iron Webmaster, 3745
nizkor http://www.giwersworld.org/nizkook/nizkook.phtml
Lawful to bomb Israelis http://www.giwersworld.org/israel/bombings.phtml a11

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:02:37 -0500,Matt Giwer, wrote

wrote:
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.

a goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in pre-mechanized society.
Even if the laborers were nominally slaves, they had to be fed,
clothed, housed, etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are
normally well kept.

Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of a goblet of
Monteuma's cocoa drink?

One presumes what about the nature of the drink? Was it made from
the bean? Did it contain leaves? How was it prepared? One presumes it
was whatever they considered the best quality but we have no idea what
they thought that was. If we are just talking the bean the preparation
is trivial independent of the quality of the bean. Consider it like
gourmet coffee. Other than civet coffee it is all the same process.

And then who made it? The cost would be the cost of keeping that
person employed or alive or whatever. Clearly it would cost more if a
priest made it than a slave but it could have been a cheap apprentice
priest and slave for display who had to be kept in expensive clothing
to show of the emperor wealth.

And a dozen other factors such as did the great beans grow in his
backyard or in the farthest reaches of the empire?

All of this means we may never know what it cost. And if my some
miracle we found all the factors above translating that into dollars
would be near impossible because the basis for the economy was entirely
different. In a well-run economy slaves cost more than share-croppers.
In a hierarchical system with great rewards at the top an apprentice
priest may work for scraps for the opportunity.

From the chocolate FAQ:

1.1 What is chocolate? Where does it come from?

Chocolate is a food made from the seeds of a tropical tree called
the cacao. These trees flourish in warm, moist climates. Most of the
world's cacao beans come from West Africa, where Ghana, the Ivory Coast
and Nigeria are the largest producers. Because of a spelling error,
probably by English traders long ago, these beans became known as cocoa
beans.

-=-=-=-=-

1.2 What is the history of chocolate?

(Excerpted with permission from the Godiva WWW site)

* In 600 A.D. the Mayans migrated into the northern regions of South
America, establishing the earliest known cocoa plantations in the Yucatan.
It has been argued that the Mayans had been familiar with cocoa several
centuries prior to this date. They considered it a valuable commodity,
used both as a means of payment and as units of calculation.

* Mayans and Aztecs took beans from the "cacao" tree and made a drink they
called "xocolatl." Aztec Indian legend held that cacao seeds had been
brought from Paradise and that wisdom and power came from eating the fruit
of the cacao tree..

* The word "chocolate" is said to derive from the Mayan "xocolatl"; cacao
from the Aztec "cacahuatl". The Mexican Indian word "chocolate" comes from
a combination of the terms choco ("foam") and atl ("water"); early
chocolate was only consumed in beverage form.

In addition it has been said that the Aztec preparation included
corn meal.

As for how much it cost it was a luxury on the order of
a fine wine for the Aztec and use was reserved to the powerful.

later
bliss -- C O C O A Powered... (at california dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

bobbie sellers wrote:
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:02:37 -0500,Matt Giwer, wrote

wrote:
Cortes reported that Montezuma drank 50 goblets of (non-sweetened)
cocoa beverage before entering his harem.
a goblet of cocoa was expensive to make in pre-mechanized society.
Even if the laborers were nominally slaves, they had to be fed,
clothed, housed, etc. In fact, the houseservants of a sovereign are
normally well kept.
Is it possible to estimate an equivelant 2007 value of a goblet of
Monteuma's cocoa drink?
One presumes what about the nature of the drink? Was it made from
the bean? Did it contain leaves? How was it prepared? One presumes it
was whatever they considered the best quality but we have no idea what
they thought that was. If we are just talking the bean the preparation
is trivial independent of the quality of the bean. Consider it like
gourmet coffee. Other than civet coffee it is all the same process.

And then who made it? The cost would be the cost of keeping that
person employed or alive or whatever. Clearly it would cost more if a
priest made it than a slave but it could have been a cheap apprentice
priest and slave for display who had to be kept in expensive clothing
to show of the emperor wealth.

And a dozen other factors such as did the great beans grow in his
backyard or in the farthest reaches of the empire?

All of this means we may never know what it cost. And if my some
miracle we found all the factors above translating that into dollars
would be near impossible because the basis for the economy was entirely
different. In a well-run economy slaves cost more than share-croppers.
In a hierarchical system with great rewards at the top an apprentice
priest may work for scraps for the opportunity.

From the chocolate FAQ:

1.1 What is chocolate? Where does it come from?

Chocolate is a food made from the seeds of a tropical tree called
the cacao. These trees flourish in warm, moist climates. Most of the
world's cacao beans come from West Africa, where Ghana, the Ivory Coast
and Nigeria are the largest producers. Because of a spelling error,
probably by English traders long ago, these beans became known as cocoa
beans.

-=-=-=-=-

1.2 What is the history of chocolate?

(Excerpted with permission from the Godiva WWW site)

* In 600 A.D. the Mayans migrated into the northern regions of South
America, establishing the earliest known cocoa plantations in the Yucatan.
It has been argued that the Mayans had been familiar with cocoa several
centuries prior to this date. They considered it a valuable commodity,
used both as a means of payment and as units of calculation.

* Mayans and Aztecs took beans from the "cacao" tree and made a drink they
called "xocolatl." Aztec Indian legend held that cacao seeds had been
brought from Paradise and that wisdom and power came from eating the fruit
of the cacao tree..

* The word "chocolate" is said to derive from the Mayan "xocolatl"; cacao
from the Aztec "cacahuatl". The Mexican Indian word "chocolate" comes from
a combination of the terms choco ("foam") and atl ("water"); early
chocolate was only consumed in beverage form.

In addition it has been said that the Aztec preparation included
corn meal.

As for how much it cost it was a luxury on the order of
a fine wine for the Aztec and use was reserved to the powerful.

later
bliss -- C O C O A Powered... (at california dot com)

--
bobbie sellers - a retired nurse in San Francisco

"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cocoa that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

How much of this can I believe since the quote doesn't even
get the geography right?