Uplift Your Mood with Cacao

The neuromodulators and neuro reuptake-inhibitors in cacao support a stable and elevated mood that lasts.

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Ethical Trade Regenerative Agroforestry USDA Organic Unsweetened Third Party Lab Tested Metals Safe High in Flavonoids Vegan & Keto GMO-Free & Soy-Free

Ethical Trade Regenerative Agroforestry USDA Organic Unsweetened Third Party Lab Tested Metals Safe High in Flavonoids Vegan & Keto GMO-Free & Soy-Free

New To Cacao? Get Started With Our Kits

There's no better way to uplift your mood than with Ora's best selling cacao kits. Each kit contains 12 single serving pouches of cacao. Choose between the variety kit, pure kit, or enhanced kit. You can enjoy a different cacao each day and feel consistently happier and in a better mood as a result.

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UPLIFT 🙂 with Cacao FAQS

How Does Cacao Uplift?

Pure cacao contains beneficial neurotransmitters and neuro-modulators already present in our brain. It also contains reuptake inhibitors that block the pathways that our bodies normally use to break down and recycle these beneficial mood altering molecules, so the good mood lasts for longer.

Some of the top mood altering molecules in cacao include:

  • Anandamide is commonly referred to as the bliss molecule, and is associated with the runner’s high effect. It is actually the first endocannabinoid to be discovered, and it is well known for moderating pain. Cacao also has N-linoleoylethanolamine, which is the reuptake inhibitor for anandamide.
  • Phenylethylamine (PEA) - Helps with excitement, alertness, attention. Gives the perception of time slowing down.
  • Serotonin - Helps with wellbeing, and creates resistance to stress. Cacao also has MOA inhibitors that inhibit reuptake of serotonin.
  • Dopamine - Gives feelings of motivation and pleasure. Cacao also has MOA inhibitors that inhibit reuptake of dopamine.

How Does Cacao FEEL?

Many ceremonial cacao lovers report a notable impact on their mood. Due to the molecules mentioned above and many others, when you drink ceremonial cacao you may feel expansive, blissful, connected to self and/or others, inspired, connected to your intuition & vision, connected to spirit, grounded, emotions arise, and the movement of stuck energy. You can also experience increased blood flow, mood elevation, and a more expanded state of consciousness. Cacao is a vasodilator, meaning your blood vessels and muscular systems relax. When working with ceremonial doses of cacao, blood flow can increase by up to 30%, meaning that more blood (life force energy) is moving through your body and nourishing all of your systems.

Is Cacao an Anti-Depressant? Is it safe to use with Anti-Depressants?

We believe cacao has potential as a holistic therapy for depression, and we have encountered the effects of cacao during depressive episodes to be uplifting and stabilizing. It is our sincere hope that someday cacao could become a part of a clinically proven method for treating depression naturally, or as a method for assisting people in reducing their dependence on powerful pharmaceuticals. 

Because cacao is contraindicated with SSRIs, many people struggling with depression cannot take cacao because of the SSRI’s they are medicating with. There is potential that people may be able to partially reduce their SSRI medication intake and supplement with ceremonial cacao, however medical studies on this need to be done to establish a verifiable protocol. If you are a medical practitioner and would like to collaborate with us on such a study, please let us know! Because pharmaceutical SSRIs have many side effects and ceremonial cacao is beneficial in so many other ways, we are hopeful that such a protocol would greatly benefit the lives of many people struggling with depression and other mood disorders.

What are the Long Term Neural Pathway Benefits?

Working with cacao regularly can result in long term beneficial changes in brain function, primarily through the reinforcement of neural pathways that include more joy, love, presence, and connection. There is ample evidence for the neuroplasticity of the human brain, and regularly ingesting cacao with all of its beneficial neuromodulators and correlated reuptake inhibitors could have long term impact on dominant neural pathways. 

Our founder Jonas consumes ceremonial cacao on a regular and consistent basis and has done so for over a decade. In this time he has logged dozens of occurrences of elevated consciousness not induced by cacao or any other input, but extraordinarily similar in nature to his experiences with cacao. Based on these correlations, he believes that ceremonial cacao is a guide, showing our brains how to produce states of elevated consciousness and functioning, even without the ingestion of cacao. This is clearly anecdotal, and we strongly believe more long term studies are needed on the myriad health benefits of regular ceremonial cacao consumption.

How is this different than Cacao Powder?

Two main reasons:

1) Sourcing - most

2) Processing

How do I prepare it?

You can eat the cacao discs straight, or you can prepare a drink with them! To prepare the drink:

1) Combine about 25 cacao discs with a touch of sweetener (or drink pure).

2) Add 3/4 cup (6oz) hot water, tea, or mylk (~180F).

3) Use a blender or electric frother to mix for 10 seconds.

  • Ceremonial cacao on Day 12, enhancing wellness and mindfulness with each sip

    Uplifted mood

    I could actually feel a difference… a euphoria and a gratitude. I did not eat beforehand and I had set intentions and listened to a guided meditation. I did not expect to feel such an uplifting though!

    - Elizabeth A.

  • Another heartfelt customer review for Ora Cacao, reflecting on its transformative effects

    Delicious

    Really enjoying the flavor of this cacao. I’m on my last cup from my first order of Ora Cacao. I drink a cup in the morning and a cup at night and it definitely gives me both an energy boost and, even more so, a mood boost. I wouldn’t believe it myself if I didn’t know it to be true but chocolate really does enhance your mood. Takes about 5-10 mins to kick in for me once I’ve started drinking but it definitely brightens up my day. I guess that scene where professor Lupin offers Harry some chocolate to help him recover from the shock of dementors really isn’t magic, it’s just truth.

    - Sara

  • Day 20 reflection in a cacao journey, embracing transformation through ritual and daily intention

    Beautiful, heart opening cacao

    This has shot to the top of my list. This stuff is so heart warming and puts me in a good mood right away. I love it so much. I blend it with chai or dandelion tea, sometimes coffee, and I notice that when I blend it with coffee, the effects of the caffeine are smoother and there's no crash. Highly recommend it!

    - Amanda

Our pure cacaos are made from a single ingredient, organic cacao beans, that are minimally processed to maintain the health benefits and energetic integrity of the cacao. Each cacao is ethically sourced from a single region and has a different flavor profile, essence, and energetic effect.


Cacao upgraded with superfoods! Cacao acts as an optimal delivery mechanism for the superfoods we carefully select, because it acts as a vasodilator and cardiac stimulant. Each enhanced cacao is a unique medicinal experience to support specific intentions.

Want Support Getting Started With Cacao Ceremony?

In our Cacao 101 course, you'll discover:

  • How to prepare cacao at different dosages
  • Cacao's health benefits
  • Cacao's origins and mythology
  • How cacao is made from the farm to the cup
  • How to create your own personal cacao ritual
Shop Cacao 101 Course

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition.