The story of chocolate

The story of chocolate.

巧克力的故事。

Chapter 1 Chocolate Drinkers A thousand years ago, chocolate was a big secret. Only a few people drank it and nobody ate it.

第一章 喝巧克力的人 一千年前，巧克力还是个大秘密。 只有少数人喝它，没人会吃巧克力。

The first chocolate drinkers were farmers who lived by the rainforest in Central America. The rainforest was a jungle full of tropical plants, wild animals, and creepy crawlies. It was also home to the small cocoa tree that grew strange bright pods.

最早喝巧克力的是居住在中美洲雨林附近的农民。 那片雨林是个丛林，长满了热带植物，还有野生动物和爬来爬去的小虫子。 这里也是小型可可树的家园，可可树上长着颜色鲜亮的奇怪豆荚。

Monkeys knew all about the pods. They liked to break them open and suck out the sweet white pulp. Then they spat out the bitter beans that were in the middle. If a bean landed on an earthy patch of forest floor, it grew into another cocoa tree.

猴子们可了解这些豆荚啦。它们喜欢把豆荚掰开，吮吸里面甜甜的白色果肉。 然后它们会把中间苦苦的可可豆吐出来。 如果有可可豆掉在森林的泥土上，就会长成一棵新的可可树。

One day, a farmer copied the monkeys and tasted a pot. Yum, he cried, sucking the pulp. Yuck, he added, spitting out a bean. Soon, everyone was sucking pulp and spitting beans. But then, some villagers noticed a delicious smell drifting up from a pile of rotting beans.

有一天，一个农民学着猴子的样子，尝了尝可可豆荚。 太好吃啦，他一边吸着果肉一边大叫。 好难吃啊，他吐出一颗可可豆，又补了一句。 很快，所有人都开始吸果肉、吐可可豆了。 但后来，有些村民注意到一堆腐烂的可可豆里飘出了一股好闻的香味。

Over the next few months, the farmers discovered a way to capture this smell by turning the beans into a drink. They let the beans rot for a few days under banana leaves, then put them out to dry in the hot sun.

接下来的几个月里，农民们发现了留住这种香味的办法，就是把可可豆做成饮料。 他们把可可豆放在香蕉叶下发酵几天，再拿到烈日下晒干。