Ceremonial Cacao Recipes and Rituals
Cultivate a relationship with your heart and the medicine of chocolate through a mindful daily practice!
The first time I drank ceremonial cacao was one evening in late summer, 2016 with my husband Eduardo. Our dear friend Jordan (creator of The Cacao Club) had told us about a wonderful experience she’d had in a ceremony during her travels in South America, and that we needed to try it for ourselves. I hadn’t heard of “ceremonial cacao paste” before, and only knew the type of raw cacao powder I put in my smoothie so had no idea what to expect, but decided to order a block of pure ceremonial cacao online.
Not ever having prepared it before and only having one of Jordan’s short texts as guidance, I ever-so-carefully chopped the block. Although I did my best, making the process as “ceremonial” and mindful as possible, the result was a super strong, not-very-tasty cacao sludge! Undiscouraged, Eduardo and I put on some “spiritual flute music,” sipped it gingerly and then laid down on our backs on the floor waiting for “something to happen!” Needless to say, whatever we were waiting for didn’t happen, but we enjoyed the experience of drinking together and decided to give it another shot.
Over the following weeks, months, and eventually years, we have deeply explored and been fascinated by the various ways of drinking and working with cacao, most especially together as a partner practice. Over time, we organically settled into the simple steps and concepts that make up the Couples Cacao practice that we share on our website.
The following recipes and rituals have come through plenty of experimentation, trial and error. From my experience of drinking cacao mindfully each morning, I believe whole-heartedly that cultivating a daily ritual, which that helps us drop into our hearts and connect to the wisdom within us, has profound positive effects on our mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and wider health. I deeply cherish cacao and her ability to assist us in opening to become more authentically ourselves, to awaken the seeds of love and joy in us, and the very real grounding that takes place when we drink with this ancient plant medicine.
I mainly use ceremonial cacao paste, which is the highest quality, raw unprocessed cacao you can find. But if I do find myself completely out of cacao paste, I’m not a complete cacao-purist — I do use raw cacao powder occasionally (this Navitas one is ethical and tasty). If you’re wondering what’s the difference between ceremonial paste and cacao powder (and not to mention where cocoa fits in!) please read my article linked above, which explains everything in more detail and includes my favorite online sources. If you want to learn what makes ceremonial cacao “ceremonial,” Eduardo has a great article going deep into that process.
Tonic Recipes
To get you started, here are a few of my favorite ways to make a delicious frothy cacao. I like to use a high-speed blender, which makes the drink super smooth and creamy, but if you don’t have access to a blender you can make it in a small pot on the stove with a whisk.
Feel free to adjust and combine whichever ingredients are calling you on the day!
Morning Ritual — our daily cacao tonic
30–40g chopped cacao (3-4 heaped tbsps) / 1/4 tsp cinnamon / 2 medjool dates / pinch sea salt / 600ml hot water (not boiling) / splash of plant-based milk.
Make 2 servings.
Often I’ll add 1/2–1 tsp of one or two nourishing herbs and adaptogens, such as shatavari, medicinal mushrooms, maca or ashwagandha. I suggest researching which might suit your body and lifestyle before incorporating.
Blend for 20 seconds until frothy, serve immediately or pour into a thermos to keep warm for a few hours.
Iced Cacao — for hot days or an afternoon pick-me-up
In a blender, add:
4 tablespoons chopped ceremonial cacao paste / 1–2 spoonfuls of honey or a generous dash of maple syrup / pinch of sea salt / optional: cinnamon, other spices, or medicinal herb powders / 200ml hot water
Blend for 10 seconds on high to melt cacao and other ingredients together into a smooth paste, then add:
1 tray of ice cubes (approx. 12) / splash of plant-milk of choice / about 250ml cold water (or however much you find you need to top up to 1000ml total)
Blend again until everything is well-combined and smooth. Honestly, this is heaven-sent! If you’re feeling cheeky, try adding 1/2 frozen banana!
Make 2 big servings.
Meditation + Ceremony — ceremonial cacao for deep connection and practice
60g chopped cacao (about 6 tbsps) / 1/2 tsp cinnamon / pinch of cayenne / pinch of sea salt / 500–600ml hot water (not boiling)
Make 2 servings.
Combine in a pot on the stove for a more traditional experience or mix in a blender for a blissfully thick, frothy cup. This is for two 30g cacao servings — most sources don’t recommend consuming more than 40g cacao in one sitting.
If sharing in ceremony, you can gently reheat the blended mix on the stove or keep hot in a thermos until you’re ready to serve. Always keep on low heat and never let the cacao come to a boil as this changes its molecular structure and the way our bodies are able to absorb its nutrients, not to mention its taste. Try unsweetened for a deeper, potent dose. Cacao’s bitter medicine is good for us! I like to give people the option to try it first without any sweetener, and then they can add a teaspoon of raw honey if they like.
Heart Beams — sweet self love and tenderness
40g chopped cacao / 1/2 tsp cinnamon / 2 medjool dates / 1 tsp sprinkle of organic edible dried rose petals / 1/2 crushed cardamom pod / 1/2 tsp Shatavari powder / 750ml hot water (or try with this rose tulsi tea instead of using rose petals for a divine heart-opening flavor)
Make 2 servings.
Blend all ingredients for 20 seconds until frothy.
While you’re making your tonic, take your time and give thanks to the alchemy of ingredients that are helping make this healing drink for you. As my tea teacher Wu De shares, the ceremony begins long before you sit to drink.
Morning Rituals
Taking the time to create space, make a nourishing tonic and sit down to sip cacao is a mindfulness practice in itself. When we strip away all the embellishments, distractions and layers, we see that mindfulness — being present with our own consciousness — is our humanity.
You don’t need cacao to make this a powerful ritual — you can try it with tea, coffee, or simply fresh water to experiment with what feels best and works for you to connect in mindfulness. Cacao tastes and feels divine to me and this assists me in experiencing the divine around and within with a sense of ease and grace, similar to the peace and calm awareness I find in tea ceremony, Cha Dao.
Here is a simple flow of how you may like to create a daily morning ritual. I hope it provides an easy framework that you can alter and explore deeper.
Opening the Space:
This is way of entering the space or beginning, setting it apart from the everyday and inviting in the sacred. You can start by tidying your practice area, so it’s clear and distraction-free. You might like to light a candle, burn some incense or bring something from nature, like a flower, into your space. Take a few deep breaths through your nose to settle into your body and the space around you, bringing your awareness to the sensations of the breath moving in and out, and the feeling of your body simply sitting. You can try placing your hands over your heart and see how that feels. Trust whatever you need that day.
Gratitude:
Expressing gratitude alters your consciousness, changing your perception and awareness of what is truly meaningful and abundant. Here you are opening your heart to offer blessings to the world and everything around you. Connecting with the spirit of cacao, with the elements of fire, water, air, earth, and ether, with the sun, sky, earth, plants, and ones who came before us, thanking each of them for their presence and their gifts. Gratitude is a celebration of being alive and wholeheartedly receiving and giving in return.
If a gratitude practice is new for you, you can use simple phrases such as “I’m grateful for …” or “I am so thankful that …” If you notice yourself struggling to find something you’re grateful for on a particular day (and we all have those days), a good place to start is by simply saying, “Today, I’m grateful to be alive.”
Intention:
Setting an intention is a way of signaling to your consciousness that you’re ready, willing and open for whatever is to come. It’s a way to connect in with your higher self and ask for what you need. When setting your intention, you can say something like “My intention for today is …” or “Today, I will …” Your aim is to express a specific phrase or word that reminds you of what you’d like to embody during the day.
Once you’ve spoken your intention into existence, take your first sip of cacao mindfully and bring your awareness to all the sensations of your body — delight in the experience of the senses!
Now is a beautiful point to take time for sharing if you’re drinking cacao with someone else, meditation, journalling, stretching, or reading a passage from a book that inspires compassion, love or creativity in you.
Closing the Space:
Honoring the time, space, yourself, and all the components that came together to create the experience. Close in whatever way feels most special to you. You might like to speak a prayer, sing a song, bring your hands together and bow, or give yourself or your loved one a hug. Welcome the mystical unfolding of the day. You’re ready to meet life with love, compassion and energy!
In engaging with this practice, you may notice you don’t need coffee — as much or at all — to feel energized for the day. Perhaps you notice that you don’t react as quickly to a triggering situation that day or that you feel more connected and grounded in your body as you move through the world. Embrace whatever comes as a result of your practice and watch yourself grow in new ways. I’d love to hear what you experience in the comments if you’d like to share.
