Our Favorite Ceremonial Cacao Recipe
A lot of people who are new to cacao often ask us what is the best way to consume cacao. While it’s hard to choose just one recipe, we are letting you in on the secret of our favorite recipe we’ve been cultivating for years!
If you’ve ever read a recipe from a blog, you’ll know that there are typical heaps of words before you ever get to the recipe, this isn’t that blog. However, we do want to share a few words about how this recipe came to be and how you can craft your own unique cacao recipe.
After serving nearly 100,000 cups of cacao to people all over the world, we’ve picked up a few tips along the way, but initially, it all started the way our ancestors would drink cacao, with some ceremonial cacao and water.
When we first began, we slowly worked to connect with the plant in her most basic beverage form before adding one spice, and then another, and then another. Then, we experimented with sweeteners and plant milks. Getting to try how others make cacao has influenced and given us new ideas for different spice blends and mixes too. Even today, we still experiment with our daily cacao! We suggest you take time to start from the basics and explore what spices alchemize your unique system best. While you experiment, give this recipe we’ve been cultivating for years a try!
Our All-Time Favorite Cacao Recipe
A cup of cacao with a Blue Lotus flower and rose petals on top.
Ingredients:
6-8 oz almost boiling water
Herbal tea (we love rose, blue lotus, ginger, or all 3!)
22-33g Kokoleka Ceremonial Cacao
A pinch of Cinnamon
A pinch of Cardamom
A pinch of cayenne or chili
A pinch of salt
1 tbsp local honey
2 oz of vegan milk or 1 tbsp coconut butter or macadamia nut butter
Instructions:
Step 1: Prepare the base
Preparing the base of 6-8 ounces of hot (not boiling) water: Steep a double dose of your favorite herbal tea in a mug ((we love rose, blue lotus, ginger, or all 3). Steeping herbal allies to blend into your cacao allows for more personalization in your ritual ~ an invitation to ask which plants your body is needing that day. This alchemy brings out different flavor notes of the cacao as well as different physical and emotional effects on the mind and body. Play with it! There is no wrong way to experiment here, only internal listening and learning.
Step 2: Choose your cacao dose
Measure out 11g-33g of ceremonial cacao. 11g is one heaping tablespoon of cacao. Tune in and ask your body how much it would like.
Kokoleka’s Go to Glow Ceremonial Cacao, get it here
Step 3: Thicken your cacao (optional)
Measure 2 oz of vegan milk or 1 tbsp of coconut butter or macadamia nut butter. Some cacao enthusiasts enjoy a thicker beverage to savor. Play with exploring what your palate enjoys. Adding a bit of nut milk, butter or coconut mana also gives a more grounded feel to the cacao, with some fat to lengthen the amount of time you feel the energetic qualities of the medicine.
Step 4: Add a pinch of alchemy
Pinch of cinnamon
Pinch of cardamom
A pinch of cayenne or chili
Pinch of pink salt
Different herbs work with the cacao to support the heart, bringing warmth and activating the immune system. Cinnamon, cardamom, and spice are tried and true allies for rounding out the flavor of ceremonial cacao as well as increasing the love of those drinking. Plus, all three of them act synergistically, enhancing the effects of the cacao.
Step 5: To sweeten or not to sweeten?
Measure 1 tsp local honey. Experiment with utilizing maple syrup or even blending a date or 2 to give a thicker sweetness. Different sweeteners will also compliment the flavor notes of cacao varieties. We love honey the most! Local, happy bees make the best honey that adds more medicinal benefits to your elixir.
Step 6: Bringing it all together
In a Vitamix or with an immersion blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until foamy. For a taste of how the ancestors did it, try using a whisk or even a molinillo (takes some practice) to blend and foam your cacao. The Mayans believe that cacao is for the body, but foam is for the soul!
Step 7: Salut
Pour to serve and take a moment to connect with your intentions and the spirit of cacao, giving thanks for the medicine lovingly crafted to nourish your mind, body, and soul.
Salut! (two cups of cacao being held next to each other)
How did your cacao turn out? Did you get the rainbow foam? We’d love to hear how this recipe went and what your favorite recipes are that you’ve come across! Let us know in the comments below.
