B for (cocoa) Beans & Bitter water

The name Quetzalcoatl, means "Quetzal-feathered Serpent". The quetzal is a beautiful bird with blue-green feathers native to Central America, its name comes from the Nahuatl language which was spoken by the Aztecs.  

Quetzalcoatl was worshipped as early as the first Century BC (100BC-0AD) as the God of vegetation. Later on, the Aztecs worshipped him as the God of wind, the planet Venus (the morning star, symbol of the rainy season), the dawn, merchants, arts and crafts, and knowledge.

Quetzalcoatl was known as the inventor of the calendar, and for giving maize (corn) and cocoa to humans. The Aztecs believed that Cocoa beans were given to their ancestors as a gift; he showed them how to roast and ferment the cocoa beans, grind them, and mix them into a drink they called Xocoatl (bitter-water). In some legends, he was opposed to human sacrifice while in others he practiced it and drank the bitter-water with human blood.

Quetzalcoatl was said to have possessed gold, silver and all the riches of the earth. He also had many cocoa trees of different colours, which contributed to cocoa beans becoming very precious and a symbol associated with Quetzalcoatl.

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