What Is Ceremonial Cacao?

‘Ceremonial Grade’ is quite a buzzword in the Cacao world at the moment, with it becoming harder and harder to source high quality Cacao that has been grown without pesticides, child labour or mono cropping, and that reveres and respects the indigenous growers and their families. 

But with so may different types of Cacao out there, and many claiming that they're cacao is ‘ceremonial grade,’ how are you to really know who to trust and what is the real deal?

Well, here are the list of things that we go by at Wild Soul Cacao, and that we would invite you to check before you purchase your own Cacao from any other source:

Wild Soul Cacao - Peruvian Criollo Cacao

Price - If the price is too good to be true, then it’s most definitely not ceremonial grade. High quality, premium grade cacao costs more due to fair wages, sustainable practices and small batch production.

Traceability and Transparency - if the company doesn’t share the roots of where their Cacao comes from, or are unable to answer the questions when asked, we would see this as a big red flag. Traceability is essential, for you to know where your Cacao is coming from, the energy that it carries and that it is being sourced ethically and with respect for the indigenous growers.

Bio-diversity over Mono-crop Cacao - Biodiverse cacao trees will be grown within forests that support the ecosystem of the land, with many other trees, plants, animals and wildlife cohabiting. Compared with most commercial chocolate which comes from mono-crop cacao trees, that are farmed purely for the cacao, often without regard for the surrounding nature, plants or wildlife. Cacao trees grown in mono-crop plantations are usually very high in heavy metals.

Acknowledgement, respect and reverence for the indigenous growers - showing that they are paid well and treated with deep honour and reverence. Grown by people who live the medicine, rather than children who are forced to drop out of school, to work on mono crop cacao farms.

Chemical free growing practices - making sure that the cacao you source comes from organically grown cacao trees, which will be higher in medicinal properties.

Ancient Strain Cacao - (for example Criollo Cacao.)

An acknowledgement of the Spirit of Cacao - the plant spirit ally that brings so much love, support and healing to us as humans on this Earth.

We really hope that this helps you when deciding what Cacao to buy. To us, these things are essential when choosing the cacao that we wish to drink.

Please email us if you have any questions, or need any help choosing Cacao!

Much Love,

Isla-Rose x