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Cocoa
and
Chocolate.
143
of
America
by
Columbus,
who
brought
home
some
samples
;
and
it
has
been
the
favourite
beverage
of
the
Spaniards
ever
since.
Cocoa-nibs
were
used
by
the
Indians
as
money
:
150
nuts
were
equal
to
a
Spanish
real.
It
is
very popular
in
France
and
Italy
:
the
French
are
considered
the
best
makers
of
chocolate.
Genuine
chocolate
should
dissolve
in
the
mouth,
without
a
gritty
feeling,
leaving
a
sen-
sation of
freshness
on
the
palate.
Tlic
Spanish
Mode
of
making
Chocolate
is
to
break
a
portion
from
the
cake
and
to
let
it
soak
eight
hours
in
milk
or
water
;
then
slowly
warming
the
decoction,
to
mill
it
all
the
time
with
a
notched
stick
(worked
with
a
piece
of
string
round
the
handle),
passed
through
a
hole
in
the
lid
of
the
pot.
The
best chocolate
is
that
which
dissolves
entirely
in
water,
leaving
no
grounds
or
sediment
at
the
bottom
of
the
vessel.
Chocolate
should
not
be
made
till
required
for
use
;
water
is
better
than
I
milk
for
making
chocolate,
which
should
on
no
account
be allowed
to
boil,
as
the
oil
would
then
pass
to
the
surface;
neither
coffee
nor
tea
approaches
cocoa
or
chocolate
for
nutritive
properties.
The
latter
contains
every
ingredient
necessary
to
the
sustenance
of
the
body
;
its
active
principle
is
Theobromine,
an
alkaloid
which
is
akin
in cha-