START HERE! Ceremonial Cacao Starter Pack

WHY CACAO?

The Mayans called cacao “the food of the gods”. Along with its rich history of ritualistic and medicinal use, cacao’s crown jewel is theobromine: a gentle, long lasting stimulant that energises us like caffeine, without punishing us with brain-fog and jittery hands later in the day. It’s also rich in essential minerals and produces mood-boosting bioactive compounds - dopamine, serotonin, anandamide (the 'bliss molecule') and P.E.A, an antidepressant also known as the 'love drug'.

For more health benefits including scientific sources, visit our cacao benefits page.

WHAT’S IN YOUR CACAO?

100% Pure Cacao Paste. We add nothing, we take nothing away.

HOW TO PREPARE?

Ingredients (serves one)

• Soma Cacao: 1 tablespoon (10-15g) for a small daily dose or nightcap, 2 tablespoons (25-30g) for a boost of focus and creativity, or 3 tablespoons (45g+) for a ceremonial dose

• 110 ml very hot water (about 70 degrees celsius if you want to be really forensic!)+

• 50 ml of plant milk (we like using good quality oat milk) +

• 1-2 teaspoons of sweetener (honey, or coconut sugar are our favs) +

• Optional spices. (e.g. cinnamon, cardamon, sea salt, cayenne pepper, ginger, nutmeg)

Method:

Add all ingredients to a heat-proof blender, nutribullet, or a beaker/vessel if using a hand-held stick blender like this one.

Blend thoroughly, and pour into your favourite mug.

Inhale, sip slowly, and savour!

For other methods and more tips and tricks visit our preparation page.

WHY NOT CACAO POWDER?

Cacao powder is to cacao what instant coffee is to an espresso - a poor imitation.

To make our cacao paste the fruits of the theobroma cacao tree are hand-picked, fermented, sun-dried, roasted lightly and ground up into a paste. The paste sets, we chop it. Then we share it with you.

Cacao powder (or cocoa powder) has undergone intensive processing to extract cacao butter from the paste. This leaves the cacao chalkier and more insipid, and also reduces the fat content, which is vital for the transmission of the neuro-active substances. Studies have proven the widely used method to produce cocoa powder (dutch-processing) significantly decreases the levels of compounds with positive physiological effects.

WHY REPLACE COFFEE WITH CACAO?

As an energy source cacao feels more gentle, long-lasting and smooth, while coffee is intense, fast-acting and short-lived. This is because caffeine is a nervous system stimulant, and it produces cortisol, the stress hormone, which can lead to the jitters and anxiety. By contrast, cacao's active ingredient, theobromine, reduces cortisol. This helps us to relax. Cacao also stimulates the cardiovascular system, and opens our blood vessels. This helps blood flow more freely, sends more oxygen through the body, and lowers our blood pressure. We’ve elaborated on this in a recent blog post.

WHY DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR SHIPPING?

As most small business owners will attest - the expectation for there to be no charge, or at least a minuscule change, for postage, puts alot of pressure on us. Small business owners have two choices: incorporate i.e. hide some of the postage costs into the product cost, or take a financial hit for postal expenses. For large businesses who have economies of scale, free postage is a much more feasible offering. But unfortunately, this adds to the pressure put on small business owners, like us.

At Soma, we charge you the prices Australia Post charge for Band 5 Businesses, plus the costs of packaging material, which we try to keep down, and don’t add too many ‘frills’. This is also aligning with our emphasis on making environmentally- friendly choices wherever possible.

For transparency, we do not incorporate any of the postage cost into the product prices. We do not want to trick you by using any pricing manipulation. At the moment we are also not adding anything to the shipping and handling fee for the ‘handling’ component, i.e. labour costs for packaging your cacao. Many (smarter!) businesses do this.

For more information please have a look at our recent blog post on why free shipping is a myth.