Book Recommendations That Might Help Develop Your Cacao Practice
A ceremonial cacao practice, like any other practice, can grow and evolve not only through practicing, but also through dedicated continual study.
In the spirit of continued learning, we asked several well-known cacao ceremonialists to share with us some of the books they’ve read that have had an impact on their practice and might help others on their journey as well.
Here’s what they said:
Florencia Fridman from Cacao Laboratory
“There are many books that have deepened my relationship to the sacred medicine of Cacao, but here are some of the ones that are always close my heart and mind:
- Cocoa by Kristy Leissle opened my eyes to the industry of Cacao. I believe the medicine of Cacao is not only healing for the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual body, but it can also serve to heal the economic system and distribution of wealth. In this book Kristy shares about Cacao as a political and financial tool.
- Chocolate in Mesoamerica by Cameron L. McNeil is an extremely diverse and informative book about the history of Cacao throughout the centuries.
- Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer — Although this is not a book specifically on Cacao, it has taught me a lot about understanding the language of sacred plants and how to respect the plants as spirits while honoring the wisdom keepers and understanding sacred reciprocity. As we receive so much from these sacred traditions and plants, it is just as important to learn how to give back from the heart.”
Mayan guide, Nana Marina Cruz
When asked about what books she’d recommend, she shared with us that “todo aprendizaje sobre la cosmovisión dentro de ella es el cacao como parte de ceremonias la verdadera historia es escuchar a los abuelos y principalmente las comadronas desde tradicion oral.”
“All learning about the cosmovision, and within it cacao as part of ceremony, the true history is listening to grandparents and especially comadronas from the oral tradition.”
Jonas from Firefly Chocolate
Jonas recommended The Jaguar and the Cacao Tree by Birgitte Rasine because it captures the magic of cacao and the rainforest through the eyes of a child.
Rom and Eduardo from Couples Cacao
Some books that have been influential in our journey have been:
- Teachings On Love by Thich Nhat Hahn: We often come back to this book and read a few pages of it when we sit together. It’s helped us see love as a practice of understanding each other and it’s truly the foundation of what we share in Couples Cacao.
- The Chocolate Tree by Allen M. Young: This book was a simple and insightful read into the history of the cacao tree in the Americas, its role in the colonization period, and how that lead to its popularization in Europe.
- For those who want to delve deeper into the largely unspoken history of Guatemala (an important hub in cacao-culture) La Patria Del Criollo by Severo Martinez Peláez will be very insightful.
We hope you find these resources helpful and if you have any other reading material that you’d like to recommend, please get in touch by DM’ing us at @couplescacao. We’d like this to be an expanding list over time.
Take care!
