Thousands of years ago (4500 years), indigenous people near the Amazon living in sacred harmony with nature, cultivated cacao plants growing wild in the jungles.
It was so valued that even after another 2,000 years, the beans were traded and used as currency. They were equal to about $1 dollar in today’s money.
Nowadays, cacao beans cost anywhere from free to as much as $38 a pound in Hawai’i. Check out this ultra-rare Hawaiian Cacao by the indigenously owned 4 Manos y Cinco Volcanes.
Getting back to history, its important to state the traditions have been passed down to today. People drink cacao in a ceremony sort of like if a bar was a church and all they served was chocolate.
Some things never change, the sacred space that is held while imbibing, can still connect folks to their ancestors, to nature and to themselves.
This is largely because of the chemicals in cacao. It is also because of natural people's love of the Earth. It is Earth after all that provides all the chemicals in all our favorite foods and beverages. Ancient texts have been destroyed. Up to 90% of the all Mayan traditions were lost to the Spanish Conquistadors. Then the Spanish added sugar and chocolate was created. However the traditions were never lost in South America. Just watch this video about how the traditions are still standing.
You can drink our ceremonial chocolate bar here and connect to your body, mind and soul. It’s great to drink with others and allow them to connect as well. Anyone can facilitate a cacao ceremony. It’s a ritual of and a right of passage to self-love.
Chemically, the veins and lungs open more, up to 30%. Cacao fights Covid-19 and cancer. I cannot list all the benefits in this article so I will write about them here.
Cacao is an anti-depressant and so hopefully when people enjoy the medicinal benefits of this plant it will tap them in to their own sense of well being.
Cacao for medicinal use is basically the same thing as ceremonial use. The one thing to avoid is the opposite of this Divine drink, candy bars.
Hopefully in the present, chocolate lovers will forgo colonialism and taste cacao without sugar.
More info about it can be found in this awesome video.
With any luck, consumers all over the world, will reach for a beverage of chocolate instead of a bar. It’s the way it was originally consumed.
The most important thing however, whichever era you live in, is taste.
If it doesn’t taste good, you won’t take it.
So even if its pure cacao in a ceremonial setting that you are consuming, it should still be complex, rich, dark and acceptably bitter.
A cacao ceremony won’t have sugar. In fact you can read about how some are using it as a drug (like sugar) here. But it is not addictive so its likely to stay a sugar free health drink.
So, how do you know if you will like that taste of your ceremonial cacao? Drink it! How are you going to take this medicine in a ceremonial setting is up to you. Slow, fast, meditative. Its all good. A cacao ceremony holds space for everyone to express themselves authentically. Otherwise it will be available at weddings, graduations and other celebrations where ritual is embraced. Ritualize your consumption and you are on your way to grasping cacao ceremonies. Its best understood through personal experience. You can read about a personal ceremonial cacao experience here. A cacao ceremony is something personal. And its also perfect for groups. A cacao ceremony is a lot of things and many experienced folks will tell you about the myriad of different types.
So what is your cacao ceremony? Tell us in the comments below!
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