A cup of love, Pure Cacao

Yes, you read it right, in this blog, I will share my experiences of drinking pure cacao aka a cup of love to me. I feel so happy I found out about this healthy, heart-opening medicine. when I was in the middle of my journey to find tools for self-love, I also looked into natural healing and plant medicines and learned about this medicine.

My first Cacao Ceremony

My first experience with pure cacao was during a cacao ceremony in the Whitedoorstudio in Amsterdam last year. I heard and read about it and when I found this pure cacao ceremony with sound healing on the internet I felt that this was my moment to go for it. I invited my friend and we went together. The location Whitedoorstudio is beautiful btw! There were yoga mats placed in half a circle, blankets and a beautiful inner circle/ altar with flowers, cacao beans and a statue on the floor. We got welcomed and white saged when we entered the space. We got to pick a place and bring our journals to write anything that rose in us after the ceremony. Somewhere in my head, I was maybe hoping that this cacao would work psychedelic, I wanted to be healed like yesterday and hoped to find answers with this. Well, no psychedelic effects, cacao opens the heart and veins (vasodilatation) which makes your blood flow faster, it opens your heart for the emotions you are holding and makes space to feel love, and to get out of our heads into our bodies. It made me feel cosy and warm and high in a way while feeling grounded. It was beautiful to experience the pure cacao and the vibrations of the sound healing bowls that were also placed on my body in moments!

Guided Cacao meditations

After the ceremony, I decided to continue drinking pure cacao. Every few days, when I feel like wanting to ground more and/ or want to feel more love, and compassion for myself and the emotions I feel, I prepare a cup of pure cacao and start my morning routine with it or whenever I feel like it. I drink it with a guided cacao meditation on Spotify or youtube. I have shared pure cacao meditations also with a few friends and my partner which I find a beautiful deepening experience. When I am drinking pure cacao with someone I often feel like sharing emotions, and love in any form. I love to share this openness, softness and vulnerability, to drop our shields and just be and feel the love that we are in essence.

Ecstatic dancing on Pure Cacao

Since this cacao medicine opens our hearts I do not only feel emotions flowing through my body but I also feel like moving my body in times. The meditations I do guide me to move my body in any way that feels right, by anything that rises in my body after a cup of pure cacao. It does not always feel easy/ comfortable, especially when people are around because it can feel scary to express myself so pure and authentic without following a certain choreography. This is like ecstatic dancing to me, which gives me the confidence and safety to move and express myself in any way my body feels like, without judging myself and others for it. There are organizations like Odessa that organize ecstatic dances with pure cacao ceremonies in Amsterdam which I recommend! More about ecstatic dancing in another blog.

How do I get pure cacao?

I order cacao from Pure Kakaw, which is also located in Amsterdam. They have cacao from Peru, Nicaragua and Guatemala. My favourites are the cacao from Peru and Guatemala, but it is really everyone's own preference. In Costa Rica I ordered a heart-shaped block of pure cacao on the eco markets. I had to cut them in pieces and estimate how many grams it was. It felt like the pure cacao hit me a bit harder or faster there, probably because of the hot weather.

It is very important to stay hydrated since cacao detoxes and dehydrates! Therefore it is advised to drink a lot of water the day of taking cacao. What is also important is to not drink coffee or tea during the day and to eat the latest 2 hours before for a good intake of cacao.

How to prepare a cup of pure cacao:

• Heat 250 MLS of water or plant-based milk in a pan until 70 degrees Celsius. You can measure this with a kitchen thermometer or when you see bubbles at the bottom of the pan it is about that temperature.

• Add the cacao with an intention, it can be a sentence or a word for example, 'I want to feel compassion and love for myself', 'I need a hug', or 'kindness and love' It can be any intention. It is essential that you are mindful when you prepare cacao, to feel your intention in preparing this cacao medicine.

The dosage for cacao is between 33 and 42 grams for a ceremonial dosage, one tablespoon is about 10 grams.

• Add spices such as cinnamon, cayenne kurkuma, mango spice or anything to make it less bitter, because pure cacao does not taste sweet to me. I like to add cinnamon and a little bit of cayenne (too much and it is too spicy for me to drink hihi)

• Stir the cacao with a stir to make it nice and creamy

• Pour the cacao into a glass or wooden cup. Any cup that can hold the heat and not let toxins free such as with plastic.

• Get yo ass in a comfortable place, and you are ready to drink your cup of love in any form that feels good to you <3

If you feel like sharing your experience with pure cacao or feel like sharing a cup of pure cacao together feel free to reach out to me <3