The predecessor to the hot chocolate we enjoy today was the Aztec drink xocoatl. Mayan Indians first harvested Cacoa beans from Cacoa pods and frequently traded them to the neighboring Aztecs. Cacoa beans may also have been given as tribute to the more warlike Aztecs. The Aztecs ground the beans into a bitter, coarse paste, which they mixed with water and spices to form the drink xocoatl. Aztecs later cultivated the cacao tree themselves and appointed their god Quetzalcoatl as the guardian of the cacao tree. Aztec Emperor Montezuma is quoted as having said of xocoatl: