Foreword:
Hello everyone, I hope you all had a pleasant festive period and new year and like me, got some well needed rest. While attempting to organise my backlog of posts for Saoro I decided to start from the start…My own daily Ceremonial Cacao recipe and routine.
This recipe and routine can deviate slightly depending on mood, how I’m feeling on any particular day, location etc but, at its core this is it:
Ingredients from left to right:
Oat milk – (ceremonial Cacao should never be mixed with dairy as it reacts chemically) In my personal opinion oat milk is the best tasting. It froths up very well but does contain gluten. Replace with coconut milk which does not contain gluten and froths up very well also. If using coconut milk remember with all the other ingredients that are added you cannot taste coconut.
Sea Salt Flakes – Table salt is highly processed and bleached, and stripped of any healthy minerals, with the exception of iodine. An unrefined sea salt like Maldon, however, is much less processed, allowing the salt to retain minerals such as iron, potassium, and zinc for consumption.
Cayenne Pepper – heart and cell protection, improves digestion, eases pain and clears congestion. It strengthens immunity and has vitamins A, B, C and E. it also works with ceremonial Cacao to open up white blood cells for maximum benefit.
Nutmeg – pain relief, strengthen cognitive function, detoxifies body, relieves insomnia, immune system boosting and blood circulation booster.
Hawthorn tree Tincher – Hawthorn is used to help protect against heart disease and help control high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Both animal and human studies suggest hawthorn increases coronary artery blood flow, improves circulation, and lowers blood pressure. It is also, like ceremonial Cacao heart opening.
Blue Lotus Tincher – Historically used recreationally and medicinally, it can improve sleep, reduce anxiety and act as a natural aphrodisiac
Cinnamon powder – antioxidant, Could protect against heart disease, helps lower blood sugar levels. Increases blood flow. May have beneficial effects on neuro-degenerative disease.
Vanilla extract ( go for the extract rather than the essence as ‘essence’ is generally synthesized ) – antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, Brain health, may help reduce added sugar intake.
Irish heather honey – Studies in Trinity College have shown that heather honey is as beneficial if not more beneficial than Manuka honey, it’s our own local sweeter and I have recently began replacing Agave syrup with it
Reishi mushroom Spores – used in many Asian countries to increase energy, boost the immune system, cognitive function and hormone balancing and for general health.
Rosewater – roses possess the highest frequency of all flowers, Rose is a highly potent heart opening agent. Rose also helps reduce cell damage and has highly natural antibacterial properties.
Note – if I were only allowed to add one thing and one thing alone to my Cacao it would be Rosewater. In my own opinion rose and ceremonial Cacao or chocolate are a marriage made in heaven
Method
- Gently heat 100 to 150 ml of water or oat milk in a pan. Add required ceremonial Cacao amount by weight:
- 10g Ceremonial Cacao helps as a relaxing and sleep aid
- 15/20g good average Ceremonial Cacao daily usage
- 28 g Ceremonial Cacao is a creative dose ( I personally use this when I know that I need to have a productive and creative day)
- 42g Ceremonial Cacao – ceremonial dosage, use for a meditative state and deep journeying but can also be used to give your day a serious kick start!
Having said all of the above, the amount of Cacao I usually chop off my cacao block is what I actually need for that particular day. I refer back to weighing scales if I’m looking for something specifically with regards to my day ahead. Add ceremonial Cacao to heating water and whisk until dissolved. Add required amount of rose water (usually a cap full but personally I use 3/4 but that’s my own taste). Add Heather honey and vanilla extract to taste. Whisk again. Add .75 of a gram of reishi mushroom spores,on any given day I can add or replace with Cordyceps’ or lions mane mushroom powders ( all have Irish stockists available online ). Add a pinch of Cayenne pepper, a pinch of nutmeg and cinnamon to taste. Add one drop of both Hawthorne and Blue Lotus Tincher’s ( Irish stockists available online ) add a pinch of sea salt flakes gently whisk until all are dissolved.
When you see the pan slightly smoking, usually between 40 and 50° add non-dairy milk of choice, stir and then whisk or use frother to get a satisfying foam on top of your cacao.
Pour into your mug and take a moment to sit and enjoy your Pachamama Ceremonial Cacao.
Note- if using Hawthorne or Blue Lotus Tincher’s remember they are highly potent. I add a lot of other heart opening ingredients to my ceremonial Cacao and with this added benefit also comes some side-effects that can leave an individual wide open to the world around them. I sometimes have to scale back on my heart opening ingredients because my life turns into a rollercoaster of emotions……
Intent
Quite literally every morning I perform my own personal mini Cacao ceremony. To start I burn Palo Santo and welcome in my spirit guides….. The spirit of rose of course being one of them.
Then when preparing my Cacao I put my intention for the day into it. First of all I wish to be happy. I don’t ask, I don’t want, I don’t need.. I simply wish. Then I wish for all of the positive influences and people around me and in my life to be happy. Then I go into more specifics about my day ahead. Example: Business meeting to go favorably, personal task that needs focus etc. Then I may mention a specific individual or individuals who I feel may need a mention for their day ahead. I then thank Mama Cacao and all of the various other ingredients I have just used, leave my kitchen and usually get back into bed with my diary enjoy my Cacao and prepare for my day which usually starts with writing down things I’m grateful for and also affirmations.
All of the above is of course a rough guide. Make everything your own but do take time to sit with and enjoy your ceremonial cacao. Be it every morning, every second morning or even every once in a while… give it the space it deserves. You will not regret it. Drinking ceremonial Cacao every day has quite literally changed my life.
Up Next
A huge amount of content coming on my blog over the next few months. It’s a very exciting time for me. I will keep you all up-to-date with my recipes, developments and endeavors.
Thank you with eternal love grace and gratitude
