¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo, cacao familia!
With this day, we’re honoring the Mexican tradition of cacao and the origin story of our Oaxacan Spice cacao! This blend with warming spices of cayenne, cinnamon, and ginger was inspired by the cacao making transmissions Jonas received from Maria, a Zapotec elder in Oaxaca.
Continue reading to learn more!
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The Roots of Cacao in Mexico
Cacao originated in the upper Amazon. However, through extensive trade networks it made its way to Mexico where it was first grown around 1,900 BCE by a pre-Olmec culture. Cacao continued to be an important part of subsequent Mesoamerican cultures like the Olmecs, Mayans, and Mexica (Aztecs). This is why cacao has such deep roots in traditional Mexican culture.
Cacao was highly valued and effectively used as a form of currency and tribute between civilizations of Central America. A fascinating aspect of cacao’s use as currency is that it is perishable and thus requires the flow of distribution to be maintained.
By around 1519 (the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors), cacao cultivation had extended from the coasts of Mexico through Costa Rica. The greatest means of production of indigenous cacao cultivation were within Southern Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The Nahua speaking highland region of Mexico was an increasingly important market for this trade distribution.
The Mexica (Aztecs) also prepared cacao as a delicious beverage drunk most commonly at room temperature (although hot and cold were also enjoyed). The cacao concoctions were often prepared bitter, spiced, and with lots of foam! One of the highest revered preparations was referred to as “cacahuatl”, amplifying the preciousness of this beverage by referencing the blue plumage of the quetzal bird. This preparation was highly foamed, sometimes using plant additions, and could be eaten with a spoon!
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Inspired Origins: Oaxacan Spice
We’re especially grateful to the Zapotec elder, Maria, from Oaxaca, who originally taught Jonas how to make cacao from local beans. Here’s a little share from Jonas about this experience:
“In April 2012, I traveled to Oaxaca Mexico. Shortly into my stay there, I was invited to stay in Teotitlán del Valle, a Zapotec town with strong chocolate traditions.
When I visited Maria, she asked me if I had ever made chocolate before. I had barely said no and she was already on her way to get the cacao beans. So began an afternoon of making chocolate the traditional way ‐ open fire roasted, hand peeled within sight of their sacred mountain, and stone ground with a molino.
The result? A honey sweetened chocolate paste, fresher and more delicious than any chocolate I had ever tasted before.”
Our Oaxacan Spice enhanced cacao is an homage to her teachings and traditional recipe.
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This is a good day to sit with your cacao in gratitude - for the all the Mesoamerican people who stewarded cacao as a sacred medicine and the miracle that we get to enjoy it today, for any experiences of freedom + safety we currently experience, and sending up prayers to the world for the harmony and peace between all beings.
