On 8 Mar 2007 00:30:14 -0800,"mcdruid", wrote

> On Feb 11, 8:22 am, 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?

> It seems that, at the time, 10 beans was enough to purchase the services
> of a prostitute. If the nib of each bean is one gram and it takes 25
> grams per cup, then each cup would cost the equivalent of 2.5 times a
> prostitute. Taking a guess that prostitutes today cost $100 (feel free
> to correct me on this if you have better information) then a cup of
> chocolate would be $250.

Cost is variable from less than 100 USD to more than 1000 USD not
counting possible alimony required by wife who learns you are playing
around and the salaries of at least two lawyers.

> Hmm, this also gives us the equation that chocolate is two and a half
> times better than sex!

Depending on who is having sex and who is eating/drinking cocao
derived confection/beverage it may last a lot longer too. Certainly
the weight gain will stick around longer (see tag).

Also 25 grams is nealy an ounce and it takes a lot less cocoa powder
(full fat) to make a good 4 oz. cuppa of god food. But the Aztecs were
all out imperialists and might have confined their decadence to cocao
and cannabilism so for the Emperor to spend a lot on cocao would be
expected,

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.