Cacao, ancient superfood of Mesoamerica

juneaulim@gmail.com (Juneau Lim) — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 02:27:34 GMT

THEOBROMA CACAO

Theobroma is derived from the Greek for "food of the gods";

from θεός ( theós ), meaning 'god' or 'divine', and βρῶμα ( brôma ), meaning 'food'.

If I were to give some keywords to cacao, it would be:

SUPERFOOD. MINERAL-DENSE. COMFORT. HEART. VITALITY. CARDIOVASCULAR. GOOD MOOD. DIVINITY.

The cacao that we are eating is extracted from the insides of the seeds of the cacao fruit, and this is the basic ingredient in chocolate production.

Sustainability of Cacao

Cacao, or I would say, chocolate, has always been popular. Her story is similar to coffee, both of these plants have been celebrated, enjoyed and commercialised around the world, resulting in an array of grades and qualities.

However, cacao got a little luckier because people now do trace her origin and grow to understand the sacred meaning and get to know the culture behind traditional cacao practices. Again, that could raise many cases of cultural appropriation as well, but we all have eyes and heart to discern and choose to partake with those who have the right intentions.

In my own understanding of the global consumption of cacao/chocolate, this raw material has been exploited and over harvested, especially in the past decade. Cacao trees aren’t producing enough fruits for the world’s demand for chocolates. Cacao is grown commercially in many hot, tropical developing countries, and they are also heavily monopolized and strictly controlled by big food corporations, eg Nestle. Many stories of slave trades and poor wages are from underdeveloped local communities who are struggling under these unethical cacao production.

In my sourcing approach with VIZU, I do not use any cacao or cocoa butter in my products because of this very reason. Once in while, I do use cacao CO2 extract in natural perfumery and cocoa butter in seasonal products and that's about it. However, I work very closely with cacao’s close cousin, cupuacu (Theobroma grandiflorum) , which is the main ingredient used in VIZU's gentle healing multi-purpose Heal-All Balm. Cupuacu is a lesser known species in the cacao family and she too smells pretty chocolatey and is popularly eaten and utilised as skincare in Brazil and the Amazonia basin. There are about 20 Theobroma understorey trees species and the pulp of these tree fruits are used to make juices, sweets, jams and other products.

Recently, I got to know Fipe from Livingkoko and this special connection has brought me so much joy because I finally get access to ethically + sustainably sourced (I dont say this lightly) cacao under the indigenous Samoan caretakers of cacao. Cacao is known as koko in Samoan language, and this crop has been around Samoa and neighbouring Pacific islands since 700AD.

Cacao Recipes

CACAO MILK: An everyday superfood breakfast beverage for low mood + stressed, depleted sensitive bodies

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of Livingkoko's ceremonial grade drinking cacao

1/2 cup of coconut water or oat milk

1/8 cup of coconut cream

1 cacao bean , dehusked and crushed into cacao nibs, or simply just cacao nibs .

Optional:

1 teaspoon of dark brown sugar to sweeten

Recipe:

1) In a cup, add in drinking cacao

2) Combine coconut water / oat milk, coconut cream, and sugar in a small pot. Mix well and bring to a gentle simmer

3) Pour the mixture into cacao cup and mix well

4) Sprinkle cacao nibs on the drink and enjoy!

You can purchase these Livingkoko cacao products from my friends at Fang studio - do DM them to order!

Sources and references:

Aztec manuscript photo from https://centerfortraditionalmedicine.org/

Rose cacao photo from https://earthykrave.com/

Dillinger TL, Barriga P, Escárcega S, Jimenez M, Salazar Lowe D, Grivetti LE. Food of the gods: cure for humanity? A cultural history of the medicinal and ritual use of chocolate. J Nutr. 2000 Aug;130(8S Suppl):2057S-72S. doi: 10.1093/jn/130.8.2057S. PMID: 10917925.

https://cacaoinsights.com/learn/history-and-chronology/

The National Geographic Society, Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World’s Food Plants, Global Book Publishing, 2008