Cacao History, Benefits and Uses

What are the benefits of drinking KAKAO? 

When approached with intention, KAKAO can assist you in coming out of the head and into the heart. It helps your body and mind become more receptive and open to all forms of meditation, connection and creativity.

KAKAO is a beautiful connector and is a great counterpart with not just meditation, but also with dancing and singing, writing, setting your daily intentions, or even connecting with a friend or romantic partner.

You can drink KAKAO daily as a ritual in your own personal ‘ceremony’ or whenever the Spirit of Cacao calls you. The spirit of Cacao is a feminine presence that can powerfully assist with healing and opening the heart, emotional release, inner child work, and activating your authentic self.

Most people find KAKAO to be grounding and clarifying.

Whole cacao beans contain many compounds that are known for increasing bliss, the feeling of love, and sensuality.

  • Calm nervous system
  • Creativity
  • Blood Circulation & Digestion
  • Assist meditation & Inner-work
  • Clear any blocked/stuck emotions
  • Connection to self, others, nature and Spirit
  • Aphrodisiac
  • Increased energy, without the nervous buzz one gets from caffeine!
  • Prolonged focus
     

    How is KAKAO unique from other sources of cacao/chocolate? 

    1. The Strain of Cacao Used. KAKAO uses the native variety of Cacao in Peru, called Chuncho. The first cocoa tree was domesticated by Mayas over 3000 years ago. The chocolate derived from this variety is of the highest quality, classified as one of the finest flavored chocolates.  Many cacao farmers across the globe grow trees that produce lower quality chocolate because they are more resilient to disease, produce higher yields, thus are more likely to guarantee a good harvest. KAKAO is committed to using native, organic cacao only, and furthermore, we do not use mechanical/mainstream processing techniques.

    2. Our Processing methods. The WHOLE bean is used for our drinking KAKAO, meaning higher nutritional value, a higher vibration, and more noticeable effects upon drinking. KAKAO is not considered 'raw cacao powder,' and in fact is much more potent, sustainable, healthy & powerful because all of the compounds are present, including the cocoa butter.

    3. The Intention. KAKAO is intentionally sourced, processed and blessed with high frequencies of love, service, compassion, abundance & purpose.   

     

    History of Cacao

    Disclaimer: The KAKAO Team is continuously learning about the history of Cacao, much of which has been lost over time due to the colonization of Central and South America. While we deeply honor and respect Cacao's origins, we are not experts and therefore are committed to being students of this wisdom right alongside each and every one of you.

    Cacao's Mayan History

    In Mayan tradition, Cacao has been revered, studied and worked with both in and out of ceremony. Cacao has been known as the 'food of the gods' and even used as currency.

    We have recently been made aware of a family of Elders (the Cruz family) in Guatemala that are openly and generously sharing Cacao's history and wisdom. They lead traditional Mayan ceremonies (typically centered around the sacred Fire), which Cacao is at times a part of (as both an offering and as a medicine).

    The Indigenous peoples and Elders that have held this wisdom deserve to be honored and respected from start to finish when it comes to Cacao or any plant medicine for that matter. We wish their voices to be heard, as we know we have much to learn from them as a collective. We stand wholeheartedly in sourcing and working with cacao in full integrity, in a way that contributes to the keepers of the medicine, versus taking it without consent, or worse, in a way that damages their communities.

    While KAKAO sources from and focuses on the communities in Peru, we believe that the Cruz family in Guatemala is bringing something forward that is powerful in its own right. We encourage our entire community to learn about the history of Cacao as they are guided, and at the very least to offer gratitude, reverence and reciprocity when working with her.

    We want to make it clear that the way in which we hold Ceremony (both personal and in a group) is by no means meant to replicate or replace traditional Mayan Ceremonies.

    For a 10 minute documentary on the history of Cacao as told by the Cruz family in Guatemala, click here.

     

    ''According to both archeologists and Mayan spiritual elders, the Cacao Spirit was one of the most powerful deities in ancient Mayan cosmology.  While the ancient Mayans and Aztecs of Southern Mexico and Guatemala are best known, there are contemporary Indigenous cultures in Central and South America who continue cacao use in shamanic ceremony. Although one of this world’s finest spiritual or shamanic partners, cacao was ignored in the ‘60’s resurgence of medicine plants because it does not act like a psychedelic – it does not take you on its trip, but facilitates your own. Ceremonial details of how ancient cultures used chocolate are not known.  It is Cacao’s choice to return at this time, and I am having fun being part of Her flow.'' - @The Chocolate Shaman, Guatemala 

     

    KAKAO's Sourcing in Peru

    Throughout our website, we share in detail about the direct sourcing of native cacao from wild farms in Peru, as well as the relationship we hold with those on the ground in Peru. We also share our story and the 'why' behind creating this organization in the first place.

    Through our travels and research, we were ultimately guided to partner with the native strain of cacao from Peru, called Cacao Chuncho. Having been exposed to and vastly educated on Cacao Chuncho over the years, we are extremely passionate about its history, its preservation, and the farmers and communities connected to it.

    In 2017, the Spirit of Cacao instructed Michael and I to begin sourcing directly from these wild farms, as well as to create our own blend and production process that protects the vibration of the medicine itself.

    To our knowledge, there is currently no record of using Cacao ceremonially in Peru. We have heard of Indigenous peoples in Peru growing Cacao, offering it as a part of Dieta in combination with other Master Plant Teachers, or using it as medicine especially during pregnancy.

    With that said, we wholeheartedly stand by Cacao Chuncho’s ceremonial uses and we feel honored and privileged to share this special Peruvian cacao as a heart-opener, an assistant in emotional healing, an ally in creativity, and a connector to the Natural world, the Higher Self, and Source.

    In addition to KAKAO's mission to make ethically-sourced ceremonial-grade cacao accessible for heart-healing across the globe, as a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization we have a responsibility to give back to the communities and people involved in growing, harvesting and making our product. While paying beyond fair-trade prices has been a non negotiable since Day 1, KAKAO stands to take it further. Our aim is to be profitable no later than early 2021 and partner with the team on the ground in actualizing our first give-back project.

    Learn more about KAKAO's sourcing & production methods here.