Ceremonial Cacao 250g / 500g / 1000g

Theobroma Cacao, known as ‘The Food of the Gods’, originates in Central and South America where around 3000 years ago it was used in rituals and as currency and was a mainstay of daily life.

Taste

Our Raw Ceremonial Cacao is the Criollo variety, known to be one of the best tasting beans available.

The taste is smooth, and when made into a warm drink with organic oat milk (such as Plenish which is just oats, water and a pinch of salt), there is a slight sweetness that comes from the oats. For those with a sweeter tooth you can add a bit of honey or maple syrup. Plant based milk isn’t essential, but it’s possible that dairy milk can inhibit the absorption of certain nutrients.

How is Raw Cacao made?

It is made by fermenting cacao beans, which are then cold pressed into a solid block.

We get these solid blocks and chop them into small pieces which are then put in a blender for a few seconds. The result is cacao that can be sprinkled on breakfast bowls, added to smoothies and raw energy balls, and made into a warm drink.

Delicious as a comforting warm drink

To make a warm drink with cacao, either heat some milk in a microwave oven or on the hob in a pan. Once the milk is heated (but not boiling) the cacao can be stirred in and it’s ready to drink. You can also use a milk frother (Nespresso, Hotel de Chocolat, Robert Dyas to name but a few) by adding any sort of milk or even just water and then putting in the amount of cacao you want - the dose is described below.

Benefits

The benefits of cacao have been known for centuries but as plant based health and wellness has become more popular so has cacao. In it’s raw form, cacao has huge health benefits as can be seen below.

• 40 times the antioxidants of Blueberries - essential in the fight against inflammation

• Highest known source of plant based Iron - it’s called heme iron and is more easliy absorbed when vitamin C is present

• Full of Magnesium for a healthy heart, sharp brain, and improved sleep

• More Calcium than cow’s milk

• A natural mood elevator and anti-depressant

• Allergen free

• Vegan

• Great for Sleep - For those who have trouble sleeping, the magnesium in a heaped teaspoon of cacao made into a warm drink, can help you get to sleep as well as stay asleep. The magnesium will set off the parasympathetic nervous system which will in turn calm the your brain and nervous system. It also manages melatonin, which influences sleep cycles.

Dose

The recommended dose is 10g or a tablespoon during the morning/daytime. For some, a tablesoon isn’t enough so perhap stop at 30grams!

If taken at night, a heaped teaspoon is good, but you can experiment if slightly more is needed!

When to have your cacao

Morning/daytime - helps with cortisol levels, opens up blood vessels improving circulation, provides an energy boost, and boosts your mood.

Evening - helps with sleep and can form part of a night time ritual, where the cacao acts as the signal to the body that it’s time for bed.

Cacao and heavy metals

Our cacao is tested for heavy metals by our suppliers and partners and conforms to both UK and EU regulations.

The permitted level of heavy metals is 0.1 -0.8 milligram per kilo of cacao.

To put that in perspective there are heavy metals present in grains, grain based products, roots, tubers, and vegetables. In fact various studies have indicated that there can be cadnium in up to 90% of our diet!