Drink also known as drinking chocolate, and cocoa is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener. Hot chocolate may be topped with whipped cream. Hot chocolate made with melted chocolate is sometimes called drinking chocolate, characterized by less sweetness and a thicker consistency. The first chocolate drink is believed to have been created by the Mayans around 2,500-3,000 years ago, and a cocoa drink was an essential part of Aztec culture by 1400 AD, by which they referred to as xocōlātl. The drink became popular in Europe after
Cock ale a decay'd Nature." A contemporary biographer claimed that King William III preferred Cock ale over wine. The drink's entry in Robert Nares's "Glossary" describes it as "a sort of ale which was very celebrated in the seventeenth century for its superior quality". Also included in that entry is a quote from Ned Ward's "The London Spy", which calls Cock ale "a mixture of small-beer and treacle", although the author continues: "if this be "cock-ale", said I, e'en let "cocks-combs" drink it." Nathan Bailey's "Dictionarium britannicum" (1736) describes it as a "pleasant drink, said to be provocative", a sentiment mirrored by