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Sacred Earth Medicine was the first to bring Ceremonial Cacao to the east coast of Australia way back in 2011. We source exclusively heirloom Chuncho cacao directly from small family run farms on the "Eyebrow of the Amazon". It's 100% pure, heart opening cacao, ethically sourced and made with love. It's the real deal!
Real Ceremonial Cacao begins with the bean. Sacred Earth Medicine sources exclusively Chuncho, a rare, heirloom bean, from a pure genetic line. It’s not genetically modified. It holds a beautiful, clear frequency - which means its entheogenic (ceremonial) properties are particularly strong. It’s also highly prized for its deliciousness..
Grown in a pristine sub-tropical microclimate in the "Eyebrow of the Amazon," tended by farmers who treat it with love and reverence, and processed on-site with nothing added and nothing removed.
The whole bean matters. The love in the making matters. The energetic integrity of everything in between matters.
When all of these conditions are upheld, something extraordinary happens. Your heart opens and a warmth radiates outward. A connection to yourself, to others, to something greater becomes palpable. That is the pure consciousness of cacao at work.
That is what makes it ceremonial. If you're not feeling a heart opening with your current cacao, it probably isn't the real thing.
Use a knife to shave your SEM Ceremonial Cacao off the block and chop up to create a rough chopped powder. You can also use a food grater, or do a super quick whizz in a thermomix. Take your time and enjoy the ritual.
Add one to two heaped tablespoons of cacao to your cup. Now is the time to add dry spices such as vanilla, ginger, cardamon, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, chilli to your taste.
Add a small amount - just a few mls - of just boiled water to your dry mix and stir into a paste. You may need to stir here for up to 30 seconds to get a super silky smooth consistency. Now top up the water and stir until your cacao reaches your desired thickness
Now is the time to add your favourite sweetener. We prefer honey or maple syrup. You can also add a plant based milk if your taste buds so desire. Once your cacao is exactly the way you love it, take a breath, set an intention, drink it slowly and feel your heart open.
At Sacred Earth Medicine, every step - from the sourcing of our beans to their careful preparation - is carried out with deep respect for the sacredness of cacao. Our cacao is ethically sourced, fair trade, and grown without the use of chemicals - supporting both the Earth and communities rooted in cacao farming traditions.
We specifically chose our pure Ceremonial Cacao bean paste for its potency and high vibration. It is made from Chuncho beans - a rare, heirloom variety from a pure genetic line. These very small beans are packed with flavour, which is why they are so highly regarded for premium cacao and chocolate production.
Our Chuncho cacao is grown on the "eyebrow of the Amazon", a fervent microclimate nestled between the Amazon rainforest and the foothills of the Peruvian Andes. Our farms are fully biodynamic and sustainable farms run by local families, many who have cultivated the land for generations. The wisdom, love and respect for the revered cacao plants can be felt in every aspect of their farming and production processes. Every stage of production occurs on site at the farm which allows for a high standard of quality control. To find out more, read the source of our Chuncho cacao.
Ceremonial cacao is made from the complete cacao bean, only the outer husks are removed. Nothing is added or taken away - and with no additives it is also free from interfering substances. The integrity of the cacao’s medicine is kept intact, and the spiritual and mystical properties are amplified.
Ultimately, Ceremonial Cacao is all about opening the heart. If you’re not experiencing a heart opening – a sign that you’re being touched by the magic of the Cacao Deva – it’s probably not ceremonial cacao! Our business is founded on the desire to help you connect to the Cacao Deva and the gifts she offers. This is what Ceremonial Cacao is about, offering a sacred, heart-opening experience to you.
Cacao is a medicine of love and presence - we like to think of it as a warm, wise elder leading with love never force, guiding you gently home to your own heart wisdom and inner knowing.
Sacred Earth Medicine is pure, heart-opening Ceremonial Cacao that really is ALIVE with spirit!
We know that not all Cacao is created equal, and at Sacred Earth Medicine, we are passionately pledged to doing things differently. Some of the practices that set us apart include:
Yes, unlike other brands, we test every batch of Ceremonial Cacao for heavy metal toxicity - including lead, cadmium. We also test each batch for different types of Aflatoxin (B1, B2, G1, G2), Salmonella and a general mould determination..
The result? All clear - everything tested consistently comes back close to, or below detectable levels!
In the spirit of full transparency, here are our latest lab test results.
So you can rest assured that your cacao is not only vibrationally superior, but also free from toxic and harmful heavy metals. You can learn more about cacao and heavy metals in our journal: Coming Clean: What you need to know about Cacao and Heavy Metals (Lead & Cadmium).
There is a lot of complexity to the lead and cadmium debate. For a much deeper insight, see the Toxins in Chocolate a report by As You Sow.
At Sacred Earth Medicine, we source a rare and award-winning variety of cacao native to Southern Peru. The bean variety is Cacao Chuncho, which literally means it is native to the region. Chuncho cacao has been used as a sacred source of food and trade by the local indigenous Matsiguenga people dating back to the time of the Incan Empire. Chuncho is the genetic predecessor to the criollo bean variety used ceremonially by the mystics and shamans of ancient cultures in Central America to travel through the veils to other worlds.
Over more than a decade of asking the Ceremonial Cacao question ourselves, we’ve made it our mission to discover, define and refine our understanding of what differentiates Ceremonial Cacao from the standard stuff. It’s like a recipe. If you leave out any of the ingredients, it doesn’t have the same result.
Through countless ceremonies with the Cacao Deva, extensive research, and years of testing we are now crystal clear on our take of what makes Ceremonial Cacao, and why we know ours is the best.
To help you distinguish the real deal from the rest, we've written this journal to give you a clear idea of what ceremonial grade cacao really is.
Sacred Earth Medicine has won the Clean and Conscious Awards here in Australia three years running – 2023, 2024 and 2025 in the cacao and chocolate categories.
The Clean and Conscious Awards are awarded to products that are clean – containing only non-toxic ingredients and materials, ethical – manufactured fairly using ethically-sourced ingredients & materials, sustainable - produced ensuring long-term environmental quality for future generations & responsible - beneficial to the welfare of local and global communities.
Our suppliers have won or placed in the International Chocolate Awards every year between 2021 & 2026 with the very same cacao that you get inside every pack of Sacred Earth Medicine Ceremonial Cacao.
The goal of the International Chocolate Awards is to identify the best chocolate made with the best cacao, to help chocolate makers, chocolatiers and cacao farmers continue to succeed at producing the world’s best fine cacao and fine chocolate.
Our cacao is not raw and there’s an important reason for this. In a nutshell, heating is required to create cacao paste. Heating the cacao eliminates any harmful bacteria that may show up during fermentation of the cacao seeds. So, it’s very rare to find any cacao products on the market that are truly 100% raw! You can read all about the lack of regulation in raw cacao labelling and why our cacao isn’t raw in our Raw Cacao journal.
We believe in fully transparent and ethical production. At Sacred Earth Medicine, our ethos is to ensure everyone involved with our business, at any stage of the supply chain, is looked after and shares in the abundance. We deal directly with a beautiful, family-run farm and have a strong connection to the land and the people who tend it. We pay our farmers well above market value to ensure fair pay for the entire family. All stages of the production process are ethical and managed with deep respect for the people involved, the land and the cacao.
We’re not on the Fairtrade register yet. It’s an expensive, lengthy process and we’d rather that money go directly to the farmers! But we’re working on it!
If you’re just beginning your cacao journey, we recommend starting with a 20-25g (approximately 1 heaped tablespoon) test dose to assess your sensitivity and then gradually increase your dosage over time.
For more specialised uses, our approach is:
* High dosage levels only recommended to experienced cacao drinkers
** While some people find the magnesium in cacao perfect for helping relax into a deep sleep, others report cacao is too stimulating before bed. We encourage you to try for yourself to find what works!
Please note, while we offer these as standard recommended dosages, it's important to remember we all have varying constitutions. So always be sure to check in with yourself as your greatest guide and follow what feels right and true for you.
To find out more, please read our journal: Crafting your Cacao Experience with our Daily Dosage Guide
It depends on how often and how much you have!
Most people have between 25g and 35g as their regular dose. So:
If shelf life was the question you are enquiring about, our cacao has a best before date of around 2 years from packaging. In reality, if stored in a cool dry place and kept air tight, your cacao will be good for at least 5 years.
Most of our cacao tribe drink it well before it ever reaches its best before date!
The following guidelines are suggestions only. We do not offer medical advice. If you have any concerns regarding your personal health and the use of cacao, please consult a doctor.
Very High Blood Pressure & Serious Heart Problems
Cacao is a cardiovascular stimulant and a vasodilator. It increases the heart rate and opens the blood vessels. When taking a full ceremonial or shamanic dose, cacao can increase blood flow around the body, to the brain and digestive tract, by up to 40%.
As a vasodilator, cacao can drop blood pressure quickly, potentially causing complications for those with very high blood pressure or serious heart problems. If you have these conditions, please check with your doctor first before drinking cacao. If they give the thumbs up, go with a maximum 25g dose. If you haven't consulted a doctor, don’t risk it!
Antidepressants
The MAO (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors) in cacao can react with antidepressants and antipsychotic pharmaceuticals. Reactions range from mild to extreme nausea, depending on the dose of your medication. The efficacy of antidepressants can also be affected. Cacao stimulates the release of several brain chemicals. And MAO inhibitors slow the re-uptake of brain chemicals in the nerve synapses. This means taking cacao could either make the antidepressant’s effects much stronger or it could have the opposite effect of what the medication is intended to do.
Search your medications online to see if cacao is contraindicated and consult your doctor. If you get the okay, start with a low dose of 20g or less and see if there are any reactions. Work up to a maximum of 25g.
Nausea
You may feel the effects of cacao more strongly for several reasons. These include fasting, smaller body weight, sensitivity to caffeine, low alcohol tolerance, high toxicity levels in the body, and drinking too much before strong physical activity.
If you feel nauseous, we suggest you lie down, rest it out and drink water. Eating is usually out of the question when you have full nausea but if you’re just feeling wobbly, munching on something can help ground your energy.
Be wary of nausea with doses above 45g, even up to 5 hours after drinking cacao. We always say, if you’re feeling the effects of cacao, that means you’ve had enough! Having a double shot just because it’s delicious will not equate to you feeling twice as good.
Hydration
Drink lots of water! Cacao is a natural diuretic that can make you thirsty. Keep this in mind, especially in summertime. Always stay well hydrated during a ceremony or any time you’re drinking cacao.
Most cacao contains high amounts of caffeine, but our ceremonial grade cacao comes from the chuncho criollo bean which is known to be low in caffeine. It contains roughly a maximum of 5mg of caffeine per gram of cacao paste. A ceremonial dose (45g) of our cacao has the equivalent levels of caffeine that you’d find in one cup of green tea. This is less than regular tea and far less than coffee.
The main stimulant in our cacao is Theobromine, a “sister” molecule to caffeine. Theobromine is a cardiovascular stimulant whereas caffeine is a nervous system stimulant. When you drink coffee, or highly caffeinated products, it can be difficult to concentrate because the nervous system is over-active. In comparison, when you’ve had a dose of our ceremonial cacao, your focus is enhanced.
Theobromine stimulates your cardiovascular system, producing up to 40% more blood flow around the body, to the brain and digestive system. It also activates the production of chemicals in the brain that boost concentration, including dopamine, serotonin, phenylethylamine (the love chemical) and anandamide (the bliss chemical). This makes ceremonial grade cacao a great support for focused activities like yoga, meditation and creative pursuits.
We’re sure you’ll love your purchase! If for any reason you’re not completely satisfied, we’re happy to offer a replacement or refund - whichever you prefer. Just let us know within 30 days of purchasing your order. To be eligible, products must be returned unopened, unused, and in their original condition.
Before sending your item back, please reach out to our customer service team so we can authorise the return - otherwise, we may not be able to accept it.
Once we receive the returned item, we’ll process your refund or replacement as soon as possible. You’ll receive a full refund, including the original delivery charges. However, the cost of returning the item is your responsibility.
If you're returning an item by post or courier, it is important that you provide us with a tracking number for the parcel. Refunds will be issued using the same payment method used for the original purchase.
We ship to a number of international locations including UK & Western Europe, USA & Canada, Hong Kong & Japan. Postage prices for international customers are available at checkout once you've entered your address.
If you wish to order from outside of these locations, please get in contact with our customer service team and we can advise if we can send to your country and give you a postage quote.
