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Welcome to Pristine, Clean and Green - a photo journal unveiling 12 reasons why Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao is the safest, purest choice for you and the planet. This image-rich journal highlights the unwavering commitment to quality, purity, and environmental care at the heart of Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao.
We’ve been eager to share images of our farm and the cacao harvesting process for a long time. So sit back and enjoy this behind-the-scenes glimpse into exactly how our cacao is nurtured, tested, and lovingly cared for at every stage - from soil to cup.
Clean & green cacao - just the way nature intended
Recent concerns about heavy metals in cacao have sparked industry-wide discussion, but Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao remains completely clean. Every batch is lab-tested and free from detectable levels of lead, cadmium, and other toxic contaminants, ensuring you enjoy only the purest and safest product. To learn more about our dedication to purity, visit our Coming Clean Journal.
Selecting only the best chuncho pods from the harvest
SEM cacao is untouched by mould and mycotoxins (toxins made by fungi). Our beans are regularly tested, and the results always come back clean. Check out our latest lab test results.
Our exceptional purity starts with careful selection - only the finest cacao pods are chosen for SEM cacao. Pods that don’t meet our strict standards are used for regular chocolate production instead. We also closely monitor bean moisture levels, keeping them in the 7- 8% threshold after drying to maintain their quality, purity, and safety.
Top: Tending the cacao trees with love and care.
Left: Cacao pods and leaves composting into natural fertilizer.
Right: New plantation area on the farm.
Top: Tending the cacao trees with love and care.
Middle: Cacao pods and leaves composting into natural fertilizer.
Bottom: New plantation area on the farm.
At SEM, we follow biodynamic farming methods. By embracing green practices, we nurture healthy soils, support thriving ecosystems and communities, and we can reduce our carbon footprint. This holistic approach also protects biodiversity and establishes lasting sustainability for generations to come.
Maintaining the ideal soil pH level (between 5.5 - 7.0) by using the composted leaves and cacao pods as natural fertilisers, we ensure the soil remains rich and balanced. This mindful approach lowers cadmium uptake, boosts tree nutrition and reduces waste. This ideal pH also preserves key nutrients, encourages good bacteria, and prevents fungal overgrowth—creating the perfect environment for our cacao to thrive.
Hand harvesting of our chuncho cacao is central to its quality and purity
All our cacao is harvested by hand with care and attention — no machines involved. This hands-on approach ensures better quality control during bean selection and prevents any risk of lead contamination from machinery.
During this careful process, each cacao pod is opened, inspected, and sorted by hand. Only the highest-quality pods are used for our Ceremonial Cacao. The rest, including lower-grade pods, are sent to a cacao co-op to be used in bulk cacao for standard chocolate.
Top: A room created for fermentation to help with temperature stablisation.
Left: Checking the progress of the ferment.
Right: Chuncho beans at various stages of fermentation and drying.
Top: A room created for fermentation to help with temperature stablisation.
Middle: Checking the progress of the ferment.
Bottom: Chuncho beans at various stages of fermentation and drying.
Our beloved farmers use a generational trade-secret method for fermentation that gives our beans their exceptional quality and flavour. All beans, whether from our farm or purchased still in their pulp from surrounding farms, are fermented on our central farm using this method. This also improves quality control. When beans are still in their pulp, our experienced farmers can immediately see and smell their quality.
When beans are fermented on individual farms, imperfections can be harder to detect. By fermenting centrally, our team can also maintain a consistent temperature, avoiding day-to-night fluctuations, which ensures a better fermentation and superior cacao quality and taste.
Drying the cacao beans off the ground in drying racks.
Throughout the drying process, beans are meticulously tested and checked by our farmers. They dissect and inspect selections of beans for colour, temperature, moisture and humidity ensuring beans are properly dried before storage.
The wet season can make drying tricky (cosmic jokes aside!), but with our support, farmers have upgraded to off-the-ground drying racks, with covered options for rainy days. Unlike the common practice of drying beans on the ground near roads — where lead contaminated dust and pollution can settle — our cacao dries safely and cleanly. These drying racks have been invaluable for keeping our cacao immaculate.
Left: Our Chuncho Cacao beans are carefully stored to undergo a secondary ferment.
Right: Meticulous testing of cacao beans while in storage.
Top: Our Chuncho Cacao beans are carefull stored to undergo a secondary ferment.
Bottom: Meticulous testing of cacao beans while in storage.
Our beans are carefully stored and closely monitored for up to two months for a secondary, mild fermentation that enhances flavour and potency. Proper storage is crucial, as mould can develop at this stage. Our farmers stay vigilant, dissecting and inspecting the beans for colour, temperature, and humidity to ensure the batch remains pristine.
Our roasting machine at work.
To keep our cacao as pure as nature intended, we use a carefully tuned roasting process that removes bacteria while preserving nutrients, natural oils, and flavour.
Before roasting, our team checks the beans’ moisture and humidity, which helps determine the exact roasting time. The beans must be cooled quickly afterward. Thanks to your support, we now use a special machine that circulates air through the beans, cooling them quickly, locking in our unique, delicious flavour.
Biodiversity on the farm with avacardos, bananas, native bees and oranges growing amongst the cacao trees.
SEM is thrilled to be in the process of implementing a syntropic farming model, which promotes biodiversity and the planting of an array of crops that flourish together in harmony. In this self-sustaining system, plants support each other, soil stays fertile, and pests are naturally managed. Syntropic farming allows us to avoid all monoculture practices that strip the soil of nutrients, and instead of depleting the land our approach nurtures and enriches the local ecosystem, ensuring our cacao cultivation benefits both the soil and the broader environment.
Left: The golden light shining down to bless our farmers for their incredible work.
Right: A bountiful harvest of Chuncho Cacao.
Top: Farmer dispalying their incredible work of growing and wispering Chuncho cacao.
Bottom: A bountiful harvest of Chuncho Cacao.
A core value at SEM is our commitment to the people who make it all possible - our farmers, for they truly are the heart of everything we do. We maintain a close loving connection - they are our Peruvian family!
Unlike large-scale operations where farmers are often underpaid and undervalued, we purchase our beans at well above the industry standard. This allows our farmers to not only invest in sustainable farming and support their families but also ensures the long-term health and vitality of the land, creating a virtuous cycle where both the people and the environment flourish together.
Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao - Pristine, Clean & Green.
At SEM, reducing our carbon footprint and protecting the Earth is central to everything we do. We’re committed to delivering a high-quality product while caring for the planet. All our shipping and postage materials are compostable or recyclable, and every individual cacao box is 100% recyclable.
The one challenge has been our gold foil sleeves, which are currently plastic. Other eco-friendly options haven’t worked, as the sleeves must keep the cacao fresh for its long shelf life. Even bioplastics create microplastics! We’re still searching for a better solution and welcome any tips on new packaging technologies we could explore.
As you can see at SEM, we are vigilant about quality control at every stage of the process to safeguard the clean and pristine quality of our pure Ceremonial Cacao.
Now you know why Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao stands out as the cleanest, greenest, and most pristine choice for mindful cacao lovers - and no wonder it’s such high vibe goodness when you drink it!
By choosing SEM Cacao, you’re not simply enjoying exceptional cacao; you’re consciously supporting a sustainable, ethical farming model and a healthier planet. Why not try for yourself and taste the difference that love, care and pristine quality make in each cup of our Ceremonial Cacao!
A photo journal unveiling 12 reasons why Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao is the safest, purest choice for you and the planet.
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