Before the word "chocolate" came into the English language from Spanish, Hernan Cortes learned of a potent Aztec beverage made with "cacahuaquchtl" powder (the origin of the word “cocoa”), chili, musk, and honey. In a 1519 expedition to the New World, Cortes received a friendly reception from the Aztecs of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City), who offered him the beverage "tchocoatl". In the Nahuatl language of the Aztects, "tchocoatl" is derived from two words that mean “bitter water” — "xocolli and atl".

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