Savremena’s primary students embarked on a unique journey through the unusual history of chocolate.
They visited the Museum of Chocolate in Dorćol, which offers an abundance of educational content, chocolate delicacies and secret recipes.

In the first room, the students had an encounter with ancient civilisations, for which cocoa was an important part of life. The little ones found out that this plant, native to Central America, was essential for the survival of the Mayans and the Aztecs.

More than 1,500 years BC, members of the ancient civilisations not only consumed cocoa in different ways – with water, honey, milk and chilli – they also linked their deities with this plant, as they believed that the cocoa bean created man. The head of the Mayan Sun God was hung on cocoa tree branches. Cocoa was used by all tribe members, particularly in rituals, and the Incas perfected the methods for preserving this ingredient, the museum curators explained.

To everyone’s surprise, the kids received their own prophecy, the message of the day, from the head of the Mayan deity. Who knows, perhaps they felt the ancient magic as well.

WHEN IT ARRIVED IN EUROPE, COCOA BECAME A TREAT ON ROYAL COURTS

The next room was also full of insights for the students. Christopher Columbus brought cocoa to Europe and the Spanish royal family immediately fell in love with the “New World seed”. The assumption that a bitter drink mixed with sugar could taste nice was true. They also mixed it with walnuts, cloves, pepper and cinnamon.