Ceremonial Cacao: How To Prepare It, What Are The Benefits, and Respecting It's Origins.

How to make Cacao, Why it’s used, and How to Respect The Communities it Comes From.

So as most of you know - I LOVE Cacao!

I love using it as part of my individual practice, sharing it as part of my workshop experiences, and using it to connect with those I love, or nature.

Also known as the ‘medicine of the heart’ - it’s a beautiful plant medicine that can help open us up to feelings of love & deeper connection. It can connect us deeper to the world around us, those we love, Mother Nature, or aid us in dropping a little deeper to ourselves, into our own heart space.

Sharing Cacao At November's Big Practice.

WHAT IS CACAO/WHY IS IT GOOD FOR US?

Ceremonial Cacao been used in South and Central American cultures for thousands of years - first by royalty (hence the nickname of Cacao/Chocolate being ‘liquid gold’ or ‘food of the gods’ - it was incredibly precious) and since has become more widely accessible; is used in ceremony, to connect with friends, and in daily life. When I was visiting some Cacao farms and Tata’s/Nana’s in Guatemala, they expressed how yes, they’d use Cacao in Ceremony, but also would use Cacao in celebration, daily life and to connect with friends, or nature - they used it as a medicine when they wanted to connect.

Ceremonial Cacao is packed with antioxidants, rich in magnesium, theobromine and tryptophan (which can be converted into serotonin)- making it a fantastic for sustainable energy, focus, heart health amongst a whole wide range of health benefits.

It also contains anandamide - ‘the bliss molecule’ (a neurotransmitter that binds to cannabinoid receptors in the brain, leading to feelings of pleasure, relaxation, and well-being), and Phenylethylamaine (PEA), ‘the bliss hormone’ that can stimulate the that can stimulate the release of endorphins, contributing to feelings of happiness and well-being.

But alongside all of these magic compounds and ingredients that make up a block of ceremonial cacao…

FAR more important….

THE PROCESS

Is the process in which it’s made.

Paulina, one of the women at the Cacao Collective In San Marcos, Guatemala I visited

From the moment it’s planted & harvested, to the collectives or farms where it’s produced and prepared, the process is one done with intention. The intention of working with a plant, or spirit used for healing, as a medicine - it’s done with care, respect, and ritual…..TOTALLY different to when Cacao seeds are shipped off to a mass factory to be made into the bars of chocolate we get from the local shop.

When I visited women’s Cacao Collectives in Guatemala, Paulina, one of the heads of the collective, said they take the energy they bring into the product so seriously that if someone isn’t feeling good, if they’re in a tough situation, they won’t work with the Cacao, and will be told to rest instead (Once, she told me, a women in the collective who was working with the Cacao was having family troubles at home, and came into work with the Cacao; despite doing the same thing as she did every day, the Cacao seeds burnt terribly, and the batch was ruined. She said it was as if the Cacao could feel the shift in energy, and was giving a clear sign that she should step away for a moment).

That’s one of the things that differentiates Ceremonial Cacao from even the highest quality Cocoa you’d buy in your organic shop: Intention. It is prepared, and treated as a sacred product, and a medicine, not just a product to be shipped off to make money.

The second thing that differentiates it from even the highest quality Chocolate is the manufacturing process in which it’s prepared…..First of all the quality of the seeds used can be drastically different from what you get in your regular chocolate (I was told whilst visiting Cacao Collectives how most chocolate companies will happily take all the rotten seeds that the Cacao farms reject, as they happily pump them through a load of processing to make them taste good.

The journey in which majority of chocolate bars are made can kill most of the benefits you get naturally from Cacao - it’s roasted at a very high heat, which can destroy alot of the molecules, and often has a load additional compounds added to it or preservatives, and that can just squash all of the beautiful benefits of Cacao!

Myself and May, one of the Women from Cacao Source

HOW DO I RESPECT CACAO/THE ORIGINS & COMMUNITIES

Cacao is only something we’ve had over in the West over the past few hundred years, and Ceremonial Cacao is having something of a boom in the western wellness world.

Is this ok? Is this just another thing we’re culturally appropriating over in the West?

This is a big topic, open for a lot of debate, and rather than give a big YES or NO in this blog - I’ll simply share a few thoughts I have, and the thoughts of those in Guatemala I spoke to also (Even there, there were a lot of mixed opinions, and thoughts amongst different communities/farms).

One Cacao Collective I visited when in Guatemala expressed how happy they were Cacao was being shared worldwide - they had the belief that when the world was struggling, Cacao would come in to show the way, and that’s what’s happening now. They didn’t mind Westerners calling Cacao Ceremonies ‘Ceremonies’, and said they were just happy that as long as it was being treated with respect, that the magic of Cacao was spreading.

Another agreed it was positive the benefits of Cacao were being spread further, but that the word ‘Ceremony’ should be used much more lightly, and that was only for the Tata’s/Nana’s (Grandmothers/Grandfathers) where Ceremonies were a life calling, and not just a word that’s thrown around. They suggested names cacao circles’ or ‘cacao gatherings’, and to perhaps avoid the word ‘ceremony.

(Full disclosure - I used to call my workshops ‘Cacao ceremonies’ and now have moved away into ‘Cacao Circles’ - it’s ok to learn, and change, and I’m really grateful for the opportunity to learn and change!).

One other expressed more frustration at the Western Communities who come in and utilise Cacao. She said if people want to use Cacao, they should be visiting the farms, respecting the communities further, and really putting the effort into learning - and feels a lot don’t.

I don’t have the answer to this, and it’s definitely not my place to give an answer, but some things to share that I think are key to note when working with Cacao are:

DO your research when getting your Cacao….where is it from? Is the organisation supporting the communities it comes from? What’s the history behind the Cacao (I’ll be sharing some brands I recommend later). Get curious and learn about where the Cacao is coming from!
Give gratitude to those communities - acknowledge in thought/prayer where this is coming from and keep giving gratitude to the communities it’s from. It’s not something that’s ours, it’s something we’re incredibly blessed to have shared with us. So we should treat it
Treat cacao with respect - learn how to prepare it. Treat it as it was intended….a sacred plant medicine! Learn about it, and take your time with it - make it a ritual, a process.

It’s important to do your research when looking up Ceremonial Cacao - try and find a brand who supports the communities that are providing the Cacao, a brand that’s clear with their vision, their history and where they get their cacao from. Keep learning, keep respecting, and keep trying to give back when you can.

Cacao Seeds Being Roasted at a Women's Cacao Collective

HOW TO PREPARE CACAO?

Check out my video here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DABSHlVo_Ay/

Cacao by nature is very bitter! Which some people LOVE, but other’s don’t so much…..so you can get creative and add components to it…..

THINGS I LIKE TO ADD (Not All At Once!) : Spices, Cayenne Pepper, Ginger, Rosewater, Agave Syrup, Tahini, Peanut Butter, Honey, Plant Milk, Dates, Orange, Panela.

AVOID: Dairy, Artificial Sweeteners, anything highly processed.

How to prepare:

In a Pan:

Finely hop or grate your cacao and place on a low heat with your spices/honey/choices of flavours.

Add a little Liquid - water or unsweetened plant milk.

Whisk until it makes a silky ganache like substance

Keep adding a little bit of warm liquid, whisking as you go until you have the quantity of liquid you’d like

Leave to gently heat for 5-10 Minutes (Avoid boiling as this can kill some of the properties)

Serve!

In A Blender

I don’t prepare mine much like this, BUT I know others do!

A little Chopped Cacao, and your chosen flavours