Maybe you’ve already heard about Cacao Ceremonies. Nowadays there are people in probably every city, offering them either off- or online. So even if there’s no one offering them close to where you live, you can still attend one at home. If you’d like to, you can of course do them yourself as well. I always recommend doing a guided ceremony as this helps with surrendering and just flowing. If you’re still not sure wether you should attend a ceremony or should try out ceremonial cacao, because you need more knowledge, this article is for you. 

Table of content

1. What is a cacao ceremony?
2. What is ceremonial cacao?
3. How do you prepare ceremonial cacao?
4. Final thoughts

1. What is a cacao ceremony?

When I first heard about cacao ceremonies, I immediately felt that it was something I had to try. Back then I would’ve not called myself very spiritual. But I’ve always loved cacao and I’ve just started to be more open to all the offers out there, that would support me in a different way then what I used to know.

After coming across different offers, I finally booked my first ceremony (online) and also asked my boyfriend, if he’d like to try it with me. He did. And what can I say .. I would not offer them myself now, if I wouldn’t have loved it.

So what exactly do you do at a cacao ceremony?

To be honest, each one is different and especially everyone that is offering them has their own style. The only thing they all have in common (who would’ve thought) is the ceremonial cacao. But other than that, the time can be spend with dancing, singing, meditating, yoga, breathwork, journaling or a sharing circle. So many options. To find the right one for you, I guess you have to look at what you enjoy and who you resonate with most.

In my ceremonies I like to combine meditation, breath and very gentle movement with some journaling. If you want to know more, just have a look at my online ceremonies I offer at the moment. 

2. What is ceremonial cacao?

You might have a smile on your face, thinking about the sweet drinking cacao you always had at your grandmothers when you were little. Sorry, but I have to disappoint you. It has not much to do with the sugary drink, unless maybe the color.

Traditional ceremonial cacao is made out of hand-selected cacao beans, who are roasted over a fire and then processed into a paste. The differences to our (dark) chocolate in the supermarket are:

• light roast
• no tempering
• contains more cacao butter
• not blended with sugar or other spices
• bitter taste
  

Because it’s minimally processed, it contains a lot of antioxidants and health benefits.

There are many more benefits of ceremonial cacao, but maybe you wonder, how it makes you feel. You can find a lot of articles out there, describing what it does in your body. But I want to tell you about my experiences and why I love it so much. Here are my TOP 6 Benefits:

Ceremonial Cacao… 

1. makes me feel calm
2. gives me a feeling of happiness and oneness 
   
3. helps me to more easily arrive in the moment
4. helps me to better connect to my intuition
5. supports me to go deeper into meditations
6. improves mindfulness while drinking it  

3. how do you prepare ceremonial cacao?

Before you can start with the ceremony I recommend you to take enough time for preparing the cacao. This is the perfect time to set an intention and to already practice some mindfulness.

Here are the 4 steps to follow for your perfect ceremonial cacao:

1. Heat up about 150ml of water or plant based milk – I love to do it with oat milk
2. Put 25-30g of your ceremonial cacao into the heated water / milk (make sure it’s not boiling)
3. Set an intention for the ceremony while stirring the cacao mass until dissolved 
4. Flavor your cacao as you like – I like to smell at different herbs to see which resonates with me that day. Cinnamon is most of the times in mine (;

4. final thoughts  

A cacao ceremony is the perfect tool to step deeper into your inner world and connect with your intuition. It is also a beautiful ritual to take time for yourself, while practicing some mindfulness. Other than preparing the cacao, I also prepare the space I will do the ceremony in. Therefore I light up some candles, have a pillow and blanket ready and some water, as hydration is super important (especially with the ceremonial cacao). To really connect with the cacao and go deep into a state of meditation, always make sure to not be disturbed during the ceremony.

If you’ve never tried it before, I recommend you to try out different ceremonial settings until you find the one you truly love. For me, I found the person I like to do them most with and I also know what I enjoy while drinking the cacao and what I rather do in a different setting (e.g. I love Yoga, but not in the setting of a ceremony)