Vanilla

Sed quoniam, & compositæ, & simplices parari ex eo potiones solent, atque hæ non vnica tantum ratione, aut eisdem ex rebus, iam his iam illis floribus, alijsuè plantarum partibus in farinam redactis & adiectis, in eis enarrandis fuerit haud immeritò aliquandiu commorandum. Primum ergo potionis genus ex eo semine parari solitum, Atatexli seu madens dicitur. fit hoc simplex ex centum plus minus granis Cacauatl crudis, aut torrefactis, sed probè contusis, & commixtis ei portioni frumenti Indici, eo quo diximus modo redditi mollioris, quæ vtrisque manibus apertis, coniunctisque, & in capacem figuram efformatis, possit commodè comprehendi. si verò libet parare compositum, addes Macaxochitl vocatæ plantæ Xochinacaztli, & Tlilxochitl, quæ suis describuntur locis, fructus contusos, & commixtos reliquis, mox verò quantum satis sit agitatis. transferenda autem ex celsiori loco in aliud atque aliud vas, hæc potio est, donec spuma demum excitata, partibusq. pinguioribus, & ad olei naturam propè accedentibus, ad superiora eleuatis sorbeantur, tantumq. leuiora sunt, & gustui gratiora, vt seorsim maiori iucunditate degustentur. Vis compositæ est Venerem excitare, simplex enim refrigerat, atque impensè nutrit.

Since both plain and mixed drinks are made from cacao, and not in one way only or from the same things, but with now these flowers, now those, or other plant parts ground to flour and added, it is worth pausing for a while to describe them. The first kind of drink made from the seed is called atatexli, or “moistened.” The plain kind is made from about a hundred cacao beans, raw or roasted, well pounded and mixed with as much Indian grain, softened in the way I have described, as can be held in two hands cupped together. If you want to make the mixed kind, add the pounded fruits of the plant called macaxochitl, of xochinacaztli and of tlilxochitl, which are described in their own places. Mix them with the rest and stir as much as needed. Then the drink is poured from high up from one vessel into another, again and again, until foam rises. The fatty parts, which are almost like oil, rise to the top and are sipped off; they are so much lighter and tastier that people enjoy them on their own. The mixed drink arouses desire; the plain one cools and is very nourishing.