How To Make  IrresistibleHeart-OpeningDeliciousEasySacredCacao

There are no fixed dosages for how much cacao to consume, and the stimulating strength of each harvest of cacao varies significantly from bioregion to bioregion.

Your relationship with cacao is an intimate and personal journey. We love drinking cacao every day and understand its compounding health benefits, but also have periods where we drink it once a week or every other day based on how our bodies feel.

We encourage everyone who begins a relationship with cacao to experiment and explore how different dosages feel in the body.

On the upper end of the dosage scale, it is worth revisiting the Kuna people of Panama, who consume up to 75g of cacao on a daily basis, and have been documented to enjoy statistically significant health benefits that are lost once they move to the city and away from their traditional diet. Although there are undoubtedly multiple dietary and lifestyle factors at play here, their high polyphenol traditional cacao drinks appear to be a significant contributor to markedly lower incidences of cognitive decline, compared to relatives who move away from the traditional foods.

These days, we don’t weigh our cacao at all, and use a simple 1, 2 or 3 tbsp measure of how strong we would like to create our cacao for the day. For the first time in a long time, for the purposes of writing our book, Gavin measured his usually free-form tbsp dosages, and reports the following weights:

• 1 tbsp (~11g): a gentle dose
• 2 tbsps (~22g): a medium dose
• 3 tbsps (~33g): a stronger dose

42g is often shared in circles as a ceremonial dose. This measure is a part of the contemporary cacao movement with its origins on Keith Wilson’s porch, where he shared his ceremonies.

For Gavin, who has a sensitive constitution, 42g is quite strong. He intuitively served about 25g per person in his early ceremonies, without any noticeable reduction in cacao’s heart-opening and transformative effects.

We suggest 10g to 15g as a ‘daily dose’ as part of a simple ritual.

Personally, we find that this amount strikes the perfect balance between experiencing the warming benefits of the drink without overstimulation.

Yes, it does! However, it functions in a very different way than the caffeine in coffee.

Cacao contains all of the xanthine alkaloids, including a bioactive amount of caffeine. A cacao bean is around 0.2% caffeine, meaning that a 30g serving contains just over 60mg of caffeine: a little more than a mug of tea, which averages around 50mg, and less than a mug of brewed coffee, which averages around 95mg.

Theobromine is the most plentiful of the three xanthine alkaloids in cacao, making up just over 1% of the bean’s total weight. Some evidence suggests that theobromine reduces the stimulating effect of caffeine, though it does not alter its uplifting impact on mood or its diuretic effect on the kidneys.

Many long-term coffee drinkers report feelings of depletion, and look for alternatives to reduce their dependence on its activating effect. Cacao has often been used successfully in this quest, and it may be this effect of theobromine, reducing caffeine’s stimulatory effects while still allowing a xanthine high, that accounts for its success.

Cacao is often marketed as a coffee replacement, and sometimes this leads to an oversimplified framing of caffeine as ‘bad,’ and to the mistaken claim that ceremonial grade cacao contains no caffeine.

We believe that no compound is inherently bad, as long as we cultivate a mindful and respectful relationship.

In our work with cacao over the past decade, we have sometimes encountered attitudes of disparagement concerning the use of stimulants in connection with any kind of spiritual pursuit. In response, we acknowledge the long and widespread history of stimulant use in spiritual practice, whether it is the Babongo people’s use of iboga, the Ekang people’s use of the plant Elan, the Huni Kuin’s use of rapé, or the Asháninka’s use of coca leaf.

The use of plants containing xanthine alkaloids to support spiritual practice is not without historical precedent. Zen monks have long incorporated green tea into their meditation practices to enhance focus and maintain alertness. The caffeine and L-theanine in green tea work synergistically to provide a calm yet alert state, which is ideal for meditation.

We consider the consciousness of the relationship to be the determining factor in healthy and appropriate usage, rather than the pursuit of some kind of ‘pure’ approach to practice.

As we’d recommend when getting to know any powerful plant medicine, start small and increase your dosage as your connection, sensitivity and relationship to cacao develops.

Cacao is naturally self-regulating, as too strong of a dose is quite uncomfortable in a similar way to drinking too much coffee is, inducing mild nausea and agitation, so the temptation to keep drinking more and more naturally wanes.

Cacao is not physically addictive, however it does have mood and behaviour enhancing properties that might make you feel inclined to drink it each day. For us, there’s no shame in the daily cacao game! We find that cacao is a powerful spirit and sacred friend in our everyday lives.

There is undoubtedly a beauty to the slow ritual of preparing cacao on the stove or on an open fire that can be expanded upon by offering prayers, inwardly or aloud, and singing as you stir.

Though often we prepare cacao in this form, we would like to acknowledge that there seems to be a taboo in the ceremonial world about using a blender to prepare cacao. In our cosmology, there is absolutely nothing wrong with using a blender during a ceremonial preparation of cacao. Technology is an important part of the emergent expression of each culture, and has continued to support humanity to present its most beautiful offerings in every corner of the globe.

Nature-based societies often embrace technology to be able to spend more time in their own communities. Just as the majority of cacao-producing communities are now using machinery to create a smooth finishing for cacao paste, rather than doing it all by hand on a stone grinder, we also find that the blender has its own magic within our preparations.

In the Yoruba tradition, we revere the god Ogum, who presides over technology amongst other things. He taught metallurgy to the Yoruba tribe, which encouraged a huge cultural shift. In her personal interpretation, when Diane prepares cacao, she imagines the spirit of Ogum, a warrior spirit of the forest who uses the power of the metal sword to cut through obstacles, breaking down the fats and opening portals inside the cacao chemistry.

Some ceremonialists advise against sweetening cacao, emphasising the importance of experiencing the natural bitter profile of the medicine. We respect this view, although as advocates of the sensual, we also delight in the bittersweet balance of a drink prepared with a natural sweetener.

Some natural sweeteners we enjoy include honey, maple syrup, panela and jaggery.

There is also historical precedent for sweetening cacao: the sixteenth-century Florentine Codex details a Mexica preparation that combines cacao with wild honey.

As you prepare your elixirs, you are connecting to an egregore of ceremony, and to the spirit and property of each ingredient that you add into the sacred drink.

Chilli increases the circulation of oxygenated blood, quickening the body’s ability to feel the effects of cacao. In many Meso-American traditions, chillies also ward off bad spirits.

Adding sweetness or honey connects to many Indigenous, African, and African American magical practices, symbolising the attraction of sweet things into one’s life.

Many forest traditions understand coconut milk to bring coolness and calm to the spirit.

When we drink cacao, our gut microbes convert larger molecules, like flavonoids, into smaller polyphenols, like flavanols. The condition of the gut microbiome plays a significant role in how effectively these compounds are absorbed and then utilised by the body.

This is a reciprocal relationship: polyphenols not only improve gut health but also influence the composition of the gut microbiome. They promote the growth of beneficial bacteria while inhibiting harmful ones, creating a healthier and more balanced gut environment. This improved microbiome, in turn, enhances the body’s ability to metabolise and absorb polyphenols, creating a positive feedback loop where both the beneficial compounds in cacao and the gut microbes support each other’s health-promoting roles.

Sugars and starches have the opposite effect to dairy, significantly enhancing the absorption of these beneficial compounds. Our recommendation is to indulge in a moderate amount of natural sweetener, both for pleasure and to support the absorption of cacao’s beneficial compounds.

We generally don’t recommend using dairy products with cacao, as its consumption can interfere with the gut’s ability to absorb cacao’s polyphenols that promote the growth of beneficial bacteria in the microbiome. Milk proteins bind to these polyphenols, reducing their absorption by almost half.

For an extra creamy elixir, a high-quality plant milk or a teaspoon of coconut oil will give a rich, velvety texture to your drink.

70°C is a good water temperature when preparing cacao in a blender, as long as your blender lid has an opening to allow rising steam to escape.

A simple method to achieve the ideal temperature is to fill a mug one-third with room temperature water, then top it off with freshly boiled water. This mix typically brings the temperature to around 70°C. Pour this into your blender, add your other ingredients, and blend for three minutes. A heart-melting elixir awaits!

Many ceremonialists teach that you must never use boiling water when preparing cacao, although we haven’t been able to find any research that would explain why this advice ought to be given.

We suspect that this idea might originate in the raw food movement, which advocates keeping temperatures below 42°C, as heating beyond this point can denature enzymes and degrade nutrients. In traditional methods of toasting cacao, such as on a comal, a flat griddle typically made of cast iron, steel, or clay, used in Mexican and Central American cooking, temperatures are usually in the range of 100°C to 120°C.

Although some nutrient loss is inevitable, cacao toasted in this temperature range will keep 90% of its flavanols intact. In fact, the only reason we are aware of not to use boiling water is that your drink will take longer to cool down before you can enjoy it!

If Diane knows she will have to travel for a ceremony, she prefers to prepare the cacao in the sanctity of her own space. She often uses boiling water and allows the cacao to sit for three to five minutes, while making prayers over the emerging elixir. This is both to allow the fats to soften and break up more easily, creating a creamier mixture with less strain on the blender, and because it creates a moment of alchemical suspension where she can witness and behold the slow transformation of earth and water and fire in the jug of the blender.

As you prepare your cacao, you may notice that its visual appearance is not regular. Often there are swirls, ripples, or paler-coloured layers running through the cacao. This is called bloom.

After the cacao has been ground to a melted paste and poured into moulds, it cools to its stable, final temperature. As the temperature of the cacao drops, the liquid cacao butter is slowly squeezed out of the solidifying matrix of cooling cacao, giving the characteristic patterning we often see.

Once the cacao is melted into a drink, everything reconstitutes, and so the effect is only cosmetic. Some people love the blooming effect, and see shapes and symbols in its patterning.

If you are preparing cacao for a large group, you can simply scale up the 3-2-1 formula as required, in a large pan, or in batches.

If you are using a flask to carry the medicine to a venue, first establish how many serving cups your flask takes. To do this, fill one of the cups you will serve the cacao in with water, and pour one cup after another into your empty flask until it reaches the recommended fill level.

Our 1.5 litre flask takes 10 of the serving cups we use in our ceremonies. Using our formula, we would factor up the following recipe by 10 to make enough servings to fill the flask:

• 3 tbsps cacao x 10 = 30 tbsps
• 2 tbsps honey x 10 = 20 tbsps
• 1 pinch chilli x 10 = 10 pinches chilli

Then we would add 10 of our serving cups of water, warm on a low heat, and stir. Once the cacao is fully melted and the elixir is warm, but not too hot, it is ready to serve. Or you may carefully pour the cacao into your flask and close the lid. Cacao stays warm in a good flask for at least 12 hours, and you will now have 10 perfectly balanced servings for your ceremony.

Whereas we don’t measure our doses by metric weight, preferring a more intuitive tbsp measure, you can assume that 3 tbsps of cacao will weigh around 33g. When it comes to serving the cacao, if somebody requires a lower dose, you can fill the serving cup accordingly, working on the premise that a full cup will contain 33g, and a half cup around half of that.