Theobroma cacao priests lancing their ear lobes (autosacrifice) and covering the cacao with blood as a suitable sacrifice to the gods. The cacao beverage as ritual was used only by men, as it was believed to be toxic for women and children. The first European knowledge about chocolate came in the form of a beverage which was first introduced to the Spanish at their meeting with Moctezuma in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1519. Cortés and others noted the vast quantities of this beverage the Aztec emperor consumed, and how it was carefully whipped by his attendants beforehand. Examples of cacao
Cacao yellow mosaic virus Cacao yellow mosaic virus Cacao yellow mosaic virus (CYMV) is a virus in the family Tymoviridae that infects cacao trees in Sierra Leone. CYMV, like other "Tymoviridae" are non-enveloped viruses, surrounded by a capsid approximately 30 nanometers wide. The viral capsid has T = 3 symmetry. "Tymoviridae" have positive-sense single-stranded RNA genomes approximately 6 kilobases long. In the cacao tree, CYMV infection leads to the appearance of large circular yellow blotches on the leaves. Infected trees are not killed or severely inhibited. CYMV has only been found in Sierra Leone where it primarily infects the cacao tree "Theobroma cacao". However,