Hi friend! I’m Jonas, founder of Ora Cacao.

After roasting cacao beans on an open fire, hand peeling them beneath a sacred mountain, and grinding them to paste with stones under the guidance of a Zapotec elder in Oaxaca in 2012, I couldn’t stop thinking about cacao.

There was a wild essence to the cacao that I had never felt from chocolate before. An aliveness and a spirit.

That’s why I started Ora Cacao in 2014, inspired by the wisdom of ancient traditions in which cacao was revered as a medicine and treated with love, care, and integrity.

The truth is, cacao can be life changing. Its mood boosting compounds can alleviate depression and anxiety, its gentle stimulating effect can reduce or replace coffee, and it can be a beautiful way to find greater meaning through ritual.

We built our own cacao factory so that we could stay true to our values and make the best pure 100% cacao available. Today Ora Cacao stewards direct trade relationships with thousands of small farmers so we can buy regeneratively farmed and ethically sourced cacao. And everyday we’re building community with folks like yourself who desire a more meaningful connection to cacao.

I’m thrilled you’re feeling the call to connect with cacao. I hope it’s as transformational for you as it has been for me.

Love, Jonas

We craft cacao as medicine, which requires full energetic integrity across the supply chain and the business model.

This means we engage in long term, direct, and ethical trade for premium quality beans from regenerative cacao farms, and we insure our farmers with our Farmer Climate Resiliency Fund.

By sharing how to work with cacao intentionally, with gratitude, and reciprocity, we exit unconscious consumerism and come into right relationship with the living world.

Like this, cacao reweaves us back into the web of life as stewards of this beautiful earth.

THE ORA CACAO TEAM

  • Full-sized image of the Mama Cacao tree symbolizing the heart and roots of Ora Cacao’s offerings

    Mama Cacao

  • Thumbnail of an image illustrating a key aspect or element of the Ora Cacao community or product line

    Jonas Wonka, Founder

  • Thumbnail headshot of Nik a team member at Ora Cacao who plays a key role in supporting the company’s mission

    Nik, Operations

  • Shaina, Marketing

  • Thumbnail headshot of Brian Chung a valued team member contributing to Ora Cacao’s mission and growth

    Brian, eComm

  • Thumbnail headshot of Connor an active member of the Ora Cacao team dedicated to enhancing the experience

    Connor, Production

  • Maddie, Content

  • Thumbnail of the Ora Cacao van in a Southwest landscape symbolizing adventure connection and cacao culture

    The Cacao Van

HONORING OUR CACAO TEACHER

  • A professional portrait of Maria highlighting her role as a dedicated and passionate supporter of Ora Cacao

    Maria, Zapotec elder teaching Jonas traditional cacao preparation

  • A vibrant image of Jonas Maria and Felix illustrating their teamwork and connection to Ora Cacao's journey

    Jonas with Maria and her husband Felix

  • A detailed portrait of Jonas and Maria showcasing their dedication to the Ora Cacao mission and values

    Maria & Jonas in Teotitlan del Valle

How did Ora Cacao get Started?

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.

Two years later, and many batches of chocolate in my home kitchen, my grandma passed away. With her passing I was reminded that life is short, and I knew I had to share this amazing experience of cacao with the world. So I began Ora Cacao.

Who Founded Ora Cacao?

Ora Cacao was founded in 2014 by Jonas Ketterle, a first generation American originally from Germany. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, completing his B.S. and M.S. He received the prestigious Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship to support his graduate studies, and went on to work on rural solar in Africa at Fenix International (now acquired by Engie) and solar in rural India at Greenlight Planet (now SunKing). He used his engineering expertise to design and build the Ora Cacao factory in Graton California, and he used his experience abroad to source cacao and connect with farming communities. Jonas has also studied permaculture at the Regenerative Design Institute, and loves dancing in his free time.

Where does Ora Cacao source Cacao?

Ora Cacao sources direct trade from over 1,000 regenerative small family farms across five countries: Belize, Colombia, Guatemala, Tanzania, and Uganda. Each cooperative and the farmers that supply it are USDA Organic certified and practice regenerative agroforestry — an approach that goes beyond organic to actively restore soil health, biodiversity, and watershed integrity. We work with regional fermentation centers in each country to ensure post-harvest quality that can give farmers superior prices, and our founder maintains direct, long-term relationships with the communities that we work with.

Read The Stories Of Each Cacao