The Cacao Lab Journal

Ah, the years-long battle to defeat coffee. Never had I made it more than one month off the brown stuff despite years of attempts. That month was magical. More energy, no sleepiness come lunchtime, and more often than not, an easy lull into slumber at bedtime. I made it through the headaches and the fogginess of the first week, and by the latter half of the month, I felt my body had adjusted. But, it was not to last. I missed the ritual of coffee. Tea has never particularly done it for me, and I longed for something robust and...

Cacao ceremonies are growing in popularity across the globe. What seemed like such a foreign experience for many of us ten years ago is now a journey loved by many who are looking to deepen their relationship with the sacred and celebrate life. You can now find a Cacao ceremony in almost every major city, often with many other modalities incorporated into the flow. If this is your first time reading about Cacao ceremonies or ceremonial Cacao, you may be wondering what the ceremony is all about. Although there are many ways to share Cacao in ceremony, here we will...

Our journey with Cacao has been incredibly heartening and expansive. We started our journey as many people do, in the enchanting lands of Guatemala. Here, my sister Florencia connected deeply with the spirit of Cacao, and internalized its meaning within the Mayan ceremonial traditions. But as I got deeper into my understanding of the true origin of Cacao and read widely on the genetic lineage of the plant, it became clear that the purest expression of the plant lay further south. New genotyping of Cacao plants from all over the Americas had confirmed what some had only previously speculated: the...

Ceremony and ritual have been a part of every culture since the beginning of time. There are many types of ceremonies and rituals, and they all carry a process of preparation, experience, and integration, whether we realize it or not. In order for us to fully access the potential of connection and expansion that Cacao offers us, there are certain steps we can take to receive all the benefits on a physical and energetic level.  According to Andrew Huberman, an American neuroscientist, the preparation process for a good quality sleep begins with the amount of light we receive first thing...