Cacao Powder
Pure, delicious, organic cacao powder. It is highly antioxidizing with no sweetener - can be added to any protein or nutritional shake - for that awesome Chocolate flavor. Regarded as the food of the gods, cacao helps the body get in a good mood.
Our Organic Raw Cacao powder is non-destructively dried, freshly picked Organic Cacao beans.
Our Cacao is Many Times Healthier Than Chocolate
Raw cacao is somewhat different from the common “Cocoa” or chocolate most of us grew up with. Cacao (pronounced “cuh-COW”) refers to the Theobroma Cacao tree from which Cocoa is derived. This tree produces large, pod-like fruits, each containing 20–60 beans surrounded by a sticky, sweet-tart white gel. Each tree produces about 30 pods a year. Our Organic Cacao powder is made from these beans or seeds (after the sticky pulp is removed).
Normal cocoa powder and chocolate are chemically processed and roasted, which destroys a large amount of the antioxidants and flavonols (the VERY things that keep a person young and healthy). A recent study suggested that between 60% and 90% of the original antioxidants in cacao are lost through "common" cacao processing. Such processing was originally developed in the early 19th Century to reduce the bitterness, darken the color, and create a more mellow flavor to chocolate, but unfortunately, this processing also eliminates most of its goodness.
Also, note that non-organic cocoa/chocolate has also been treated heavily with toxic pesticides and fumigation chemicals, and may contain genetically modified (GMO) products.
Organic Cacao Manufacturing Process and Dosing
Our powdering process is a non-destructive freeze-drying process that never exceeds 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius). It takes approximately 500 cacao beans to produce one pound of our Cacao powder. Therefore, one teaspoon is equivalent to about 5 Cacao beans in nutrition.
We recommend taking one to six teaspoons of Raw Organic Cacao Powder each day. Our recommended dosage would provide the nutrition of between five and fifty cacao beans.
You can add our Raw Organic Cacao Powder to water or any beverage. (Please note that it is better to add Cacao Powder to liquid with a temperature that is less than 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). Otherwise, some enzymes and nutrients will be deactivated.)
Cacao Nutrition Highlights
Uncooked cacao has high levels of active flavonoids, which have been shown to boost heart health by reducing cholesterol levels, insulin resistance, and blood pressure. Flavonoids are a kind of antioxidant that protects the body from aging and disease. Raw cacao has a whopping 95,000 ORAC value score per 100 grams — more than 20 times that of blueberries.
Unlike man-made supplements, cacao provides its nutrient chemicals — protein, calcium, carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, magnesium, sulfur, essential fatty acids in a natural, balanced, assimilable blend that enables all its naturally occurring nutrients to have incredible benefits throughout the body, such as lowered LDL cholesterol, improved heart function, and reduced cancer risk.
Cacao also provides us with phenethylamine or PEA. Large doses of this natural chemical are released into the brain when we're attracted to someone. PEA also helps in natural pain and stress-relieving way and helps stimulate the secretion of endorphins to help us stay alert and focused. PEA also helps in releasing the compound Anandamide, which produces uniquely euphoric feelings of relaxation and contentment.
Cacao also helps stimulate the release of serotonin and contains neurotransmitters.
Cacao also provides small amounts of stimulants, caffeine, and theobromine, to provide increased energy.
Watch the videos below to learn more about Cacao, including how to open Cacao pods and make Chocolate. Note, however, there are methods that use far less heat as we are more interested in nutrition than the authors of those videos, who are more interested in a delicious result.
Cacao Powder - Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Cacao Called the Food of the Gods?
The cacao plant is believed to have evolved at least 4,000 years ago. It is a small evergreen tree, that is protected by the shade of larger trees. Its scientific name cacao theobroma - literally means cacao, "food of the Gods".
Cacao begins as a tiny blossom on a small tropical tree. Only three out of a thousand of these will produce the cacao pods.
The Aztecs used cacao beans as currency and as food and drink for the privileged. Spaniards introduced the drinking of chocolate (roasted, powdered, sweetened cacao) to Europe where, in the medical system of the time, those who could afford it used chocolate drink as a tonic and remedy. The purported health benefits of chocolate and organic cacao (many times healthier than chocolate).
In case you're wondering, here's what you could buy 500 years ago in Mesoamerica with cacao beans:
1 bean for a large tomato or tamale
4 beans for a rabbit or pumpkin
50 beans for a mule
100 – 200 for a slave or a turkey
Cacao was considered a medicine and commonly used for seizures, fevers, dysentery, digestive problems, and skin problems. Both restorative and nourishing it was also a prized aphrodisiac. Montezuma is said to have enjoyed fifty golden goblets of cacao a day. He then would toss the empty goblet into the lake and go off to visit his three hundred wives! Montezuma believed the drink fought fatigue—a cup would allow a man to walk an entire day without food!
The cacao beverage from those many hundreds of years ago is not remotely similar to the cocoa we know now. It was a thick, bitter drink flavored with hot chilies, maize, and sometimes vanilla beans and pimentos.
To preserve cacao, they would grind the beans into a paste, add honey and vanilla, roll it into tubes, and let it dry. The rolls could then be reconstituted into warm beverages. Elites or royals might top their rolls with cacao butter. These rolls are still available for purchase in Mexico and South America.
Is There Caffeine in Cacao?
Yes, cacao contains a small amount of caffeine, as well as other substances, such as theobromine that may help elevate mood or energy in some people. A veterinarian will be quick to tell you that cacao products are dangerous, sometimes even fatal, to dogs and cats. That's because animals metabolize caffeine and theobromine more slowly than humans do.
Is It Okay to Add a Sweetener or Other Juice to Cacao?
Absolutely, yes! Drink it straight or doctor it up!
Feel free to add Monk Fruit, Stevia, Xylitol, Cranberry Juice, Grape Juice, etc. — whatever, you would like. Or mix our Cacao Powder in any protein shake or nutritional shake.
