CIRCLE OF HENDRIX GOVAERTS (ANTWERP 1669 - 1720)The Tea Ceremony (Chocolate)Oil on canvas, 47 x 63cmPrior to 1828, chocolate was available solely in a liquid form. Originating with the Mayan cultures as early as 500 B.C., it was a drink far removed from the hot chocolate that we so greedily consume today. Unlike our milky, sweet product, the first hot chocolate was made by grounding the cocoa beans to a powder, mixing it with spices and then vigorously shaking the mixture until a froth was formed. It was not until the 16th century that chocolate came to be tasted by European lips, with Hernando Cortés encountering the substance during his invasion of the Aztecs. However, the bitter and sharp drink was not immediately liked, with the noted traveller, Girolamo Benzoni, claiming it as ‘a drink for pigs’. Nonetheless, Cortés returned to Spain with the recipe and, with the addition of sugar or honey, the new, sweeter drink found great favour among the court’s nobility.Between 1556 and 1714, Belgium was part of the Spanish Netherlands and it was not long before hot chocolate found its way into the Northern territories. Dedicated ‘chocolate houses’ were established and these became centres for bibation, gambling and gentlemanly discussion. However, access was not open to all as the exotic drink came with a hefty charge, keeping chocolate exclusively in the hands of the wealthy.