This is not a highly processed powder, and not sweetened in any way.
COLOMBIA: This is an unsweetened single origin cacao from the Arhuacos indigenous community of Colombia. The Arhuaco people believe that the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range that they call home is heart of the world, and that the well being of the planet depends on its stability. The Arhuaco and their neighboring tribes call themselves the Elder Brother, and refer to those of us living in modern western culture as ‘younger brothers’. As our Elder Brothers, they believe it is their responsibility to maintain the balance and harmony of the universe by making offerings & prayers to the earth, in order to give back what we extract from it. They pray for the planet and for us, their younger brothers, every day.
ECUADOR:This unsweetened ceremonial cacao is organically grown using regenerative agriculture practices in the Emerald Coast of Ecuador. This cacao is grown in full harmony with the earth, in small agroforestry plots that include other fruit, nut, and hardwood trees & shrubs. The genetics of the beans we use to craft this variety of ceremonial cacao are predominantly Arriba Nacional, an older heirloom strain of cacao that is smooth, nutty, and floral. This particular varietal is dense in the uplifting & mood-enhancing compounds naturally found in cacao.
MEXICO: The Zoque Rainforest is home to several indigenous communities, including the Tzotzil Maya and the Zoque. These communities are descendants of the original Olmec and Mayan people of the greater region, who were the first people to consume cacao as a ritual and celebratory beverage. We are grateful to play a part in the revitalization of cacao farming within these ancestral forests through our purchasing efforts, which support several regenerative agroforestry projects, from biodiversity conservation, to improving the health of local soils, to sequestering atmospheric carbon and fighting climate change.
PERU: This cacao comes from the greater Ucayali River near Pucallpa, Peru. The cultivation of cacao in this region is part of a national and international effort to provide alternative sources of income to replace coca cultivation. Additionally, several of the cacao farmers are Shipibo-Conibo, an indigenous community known most widely by westerners as the cultural stewards of ayahuasca, an entheogenic plant brew known for its psychedelic and vision-inducing properties. We sincerely believe in the entheogenic capabilities of cacao as a heart-opening celebratory sacrament, and are honored to source cacao from a region ripe with this type of reverence for plant medicines.
