What is a cacao ceremony?

For the Maya and their neighbours, cacao was valuable and meaningful. Archaeologists have found cacao residue in Maya vessels, including a 5th-century pot from Río Azul in Guatemala painted with the glyph kakaw. Painted ceramics show cacao served at royal courts and feasts. Cacao drinks were part of offerings, weddings and hospitality, and by the time the Spanish arrived, cacao beans were used as money.

What we don’t have is evidence for a single “ancient cacao ceremony” that looks like today’s gatherings. Cacao’s place in Maya life was many things at once, and many Maya families still prepare cacao today in their own ways, which aren’t ours to package. More in a short history of cacao.

The modern cacao ceremony took shape at Lake Atitlán in Guatemala, especially in the village of San Marcos La Laguna, where travellers began gathering to drink cacao together from the late 1990s onwards. From there it spread to yoga studios, retreats and living rooms around the world.

At its simplest, it is people sitting together with a warm cup, giving it and each other their attention. Every gathering is a little different, and that is part of its charm.

No. Cacao is not a psychedelic, and a cacao gathering is not a drug experience. Cacao is a food.

When people talk about the warm, “open-hearted” feeling of a cacao gathering, they usually point to what cacao naturally contains: theobromine, which cacao is known for, and a little caffeine. Many people describe feeling more present and more connected to the people around them. Much of that comes from the time, the company and the attention, and we don’t promise any particular effect.

Because cacao has deep roots in Indigenous cultures, it’s worth being careful:

• Don’t call it an ancient Maya ceremony unless it truly is one, led by Maya people.
• Say “facilitator,” not “shaman.” Most facilitators aren’t initiated into any Indigenous tradition, and the title belongs to those who are.
• Avoid sacred symbols as decoration.
• Know where your cacao comes from and how the people who grew it were treated.
• Don’t promise effects. Cacao is a food.

Usually about 40 g of cacao per person, in about 150–200 ml (5–7 fl oz) of water: a stronger cup than an everyday one (15–20 g). For group quantities, see cacao for circles.

• Atlas Obscura: the Río Azul vessel
• Smithsonian Magazine: earliest cacao use
• University of Oregon thesis on modern cacao ceremonies
• Dismantle Magazine (2020) on the modern ceremony
• Smit (2011), Theobromine and the pharmacology of cocoa, Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology
• USDA FoodData Central: caffeine and theobromine in unsweetened chocolate