So I was reading this book all about vanilla that I pulled off the shelf at the library on a whim. I expected it to be interesting generally, but I was immediately swept away by all of the fascinating things there were to know about Vanilla. And so, without further ado, here is the story that this piece illustrates:

Once upon a time in New Spain the upper class women discovered a mix for hot chocolate that would be all the rage for many years to come. They were so infatuated with this beverage that they had their maids bring it to them frequently, so frequently, in fact that they could not even forgo their beloved drink during mass. Their defense was that the sermons were simply too long and dull and that this would help them stay awake. The Bishop’s response was to outlaw the beverage during mass, with the penalty of excommunication because clearly this drink was an addictive devil’s brew, made to upset the service. The women took this decree in stride and stopped going to mass at the cathedral, instead going to the local convent, where they could continue to summon their hot chocolate maids as they pleased. The Bishop refused to be confounded, and made a further decree, everyone had to take mass in the cathedral or else suffer excommunication. Certainly that took care of that…for a very short while, for the Bishop was soon poisoned. This poison was delivered to him, in his hot chocolate!

I read this tale and realized that I immediately needed to make a piece about it. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction.

~Greg