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After they're fermented for several days, cacao beans are dried, roasted, shelled, and ground into a paste called chocolate liquor.
经过几天的发酵后，可可豆被烘干、烘烤、去壳，然后研磨成一种叫做可可浆的糊状物。
Roasting is an important step.
烘烤这一步十分重要。
It creates new flavor compounds, and concentrates other flavors that were already there.
它在浓缩了现有味道的情况下，创造出了拥有新味道的化合物。
It also burns off acetic acid, a natural byproduct of fermentation which can give chocolate an undesirable, vinegary flavor.
可可浆烘烤的过程中还会形成醋酸，醋酸是可可浆的天然副产品，会让巧克力产生一种令人不快的醋味。
And while I do love salt and vinegar chips, I don't think I would like it in my chocolate.
虽然我确实喜欢盐醋味薯片，但应该不会喜欢盐醋味巧克力。
These early steps in the chocolate-making process haven't changed much over the centuries.
几个世纪以来，巧克力制作的这些前期步骤没有发生太大变化。
The main difference in the Maya preparation came after the beans were processed.
玛雅人巧克力制作主要是豆子被加工后的工序有所不同。
Instead of using the ground cacao beans to make candy or desserts, they mixed the paste with water, cornmeal, and spices like chili peppers to make a thick, savory beverage.
玛雅人不用研磨过的可可豆制作糖果或甜点，而是将这种糊状物与水、玉米粉和辣椒等香料混合，制成浓郁可口的饮料。
By pouring the liquid from one container to another a few times, they were able to give it a frothy head, which was a big part of the drink's appeal, apparently.
玛雅人将液体在两个容器之间相互倾倒，让它产生泡沫——显然是这种饮料吸引人的很一大部分原因。
Chocolate was especially popular among the elite.
可可在精英阶层中尤其受欢迎。
It was enjoyed by Maya rulers, and cacao beans and chocolate paraphernalia have been found in royal tombs.
玛雅的统治阶层很喜欢可可，在皇室陵墓中也发现了可可豆和巧克力制作用具。
Priests drank chocolate and used it in religious ceremonies.
牧师们也喝可可，并在宗教仪式中用到它。
Cacao was considered a gift from the gods, and it was featured in Maya weddings, where the bride and groom would exchange sips of the beverage to seal their union.
可可豆被认为是上帝赐予的礼物，在玛雅人的婚礼上，新娘和新郎会交换一小口可可饮料来巩固他们的婚姻。
In addition, after important transactions were agreed to, the two parties would share a drink of chocolate to make it official.
此外，玛雅人在达成重要交易后，双方还会分享一杯可可饮料，表示交易正式生效。
Cute!
很可爱！
The Aztecs, who dominated central Mexico from around 1300 to 1521, were just as enamored with chocolate.
从1300年到1521年左右统治墨西哥中部的阿兹特克人同样迷恋巧克力。
They used cacao beans as currency.
他们将可可豆作为货币。
One bean was worth a tamale, while 100 beans was enough to get you a quality female turkey.
一颗豆子可以买一份玉米粉蒸肉，而一百颗豆子足以买到一只优质的雌性火鸡。
And chocolate played a role in Aztec religious ceremonies, too.
巧克力也在阿兹特克的宗教仪式中发挥了作用。
In their book The True History of Chocolate, Sophie and Michael Coe mention a Spanish chronicler who wrote that sacrifice victims who weren't in the mood to participate in the ritual dances leading up to their deaths were given chocolate to boost their spirits.
在索菲·科和麦克·科的书籍《巧克力的真实历史》中，提到了一位西班牙编年史家，他写道，不愿意参加祭祀舞蹈并走向死亡的牺牲者们，会被给予可可饮料来提振他们的精神。
I guess there are worse things you could be subjected to right before your own ritual sacrifice, but the fact that the chocolate was mixed with blood from previous human sacrifice victims probably didn't do wonders for morale.
我想，在参加自己的祭祀仪式之前，你可能会经历更糟糕的事情，但这杯可可饮料里有之前祭祀者的血液，大概是不能奇迹般地鼓舞士气。
This is probably as good a place as any to mention that I have an aunt whose entire bathroom is decked out in chocolate decor.
现在可能是说这个事情的好时候：我有一个阿姨，她的整个浴室都装饰着巧克力。
Like chocolate towels, chocolate wall art with little sassy chocolate phrases on them...
有写着一些巧克力相关俚语的巧克力毛巾，巧克力墙上艺术……
I've never seen her eat or talk about chocolate, but we've all accepted that this is just what her bathroom looks like.
我从来没有见过她吃巧克力或谈论巧克力，但我们都接受了，她浴室就是这个样子。
Anyway, according to Aztec legend, the emperor Montezuma II could've given my aunt Carol a run for her money.
无论如何，根据阿兹特克人的传说，蒙特祖马二世皇帝本可以与我的阿姨卡罗尔竞争。
(I mean, they didn't mention Carol, but you know what I mean.)
（他们没有提到卡罗尔，但你懂我意思。）
Montezuma II, who, incidentally, is increasingly referred to as Moctezuma in English because it more closely resembles the original Aztec, was rumored to have drunk a gallon of chocolate a day, but he didn't just like it for the taste.
顺便说一句，蒙特祖马二世（Montezuma II）在英语中被越来越多地称为蒙克特祖马（Moctezuma），因为它的读音与阿兹特克（Aztec）更接近，据说他喜欢喝可可，每天要喝一加仑的可可，但不仅仅是因为它味道好。
Chocolate was believed to be an aphrodisiac, and he purportedly binged the drink to fuel his affairs.
那时巧克力被认为是一种壮阳药，据称他大量摄入可可是为了满足自己的风流韵事。
Chocolate never lost its romantic reputation, but the scientific evidence for its amorous abilities is actually pretty limited.
巧克力一直以来都代表浪漫，但证明其能够催生情爱的科学证据实际上相当有限。
Chocolate contains the compounds tryptophan and phenylethylamine, and tryptophan does help the body make seratonin, which is associated with feelings of happiness and well-being.
巧克力含有色氨酸和苯乙胺化合物，色氨酸确实有助于身体产生血清素，这与快乐和幸福感有关。
Phenylethylamine releases dopamine, otherwise known as the "feel-good” neurotransmitter.
苯乙胺能够释放多巴胺，也就是让人“感觉良好”的神经递质。
I wouldn't know personally, but I've heard that it's nice to have higher levels of dopamine.
我个人不太了解，但听说多巴胺水平高是件好事。
Tryptophan and phenylethylamine may qualify as aphrodisiacs, but there probably aren't enough of them in cacao beans to produce any noticeable effects.
色氨酸和苯乙胺或许被认为是壮阳药，但可可豆中的色氨酸和苯乙胺含量不足以让其在这方面产生显著效果。
