Raw Criollo cacao

For the Maya and the Aztecs, cacao was sacred. They made 'xocoatl' from it, a bitter drink beaten to a foam, reserved for ceremonies, healers and rulers. The beans served as currency. Cacao accompanied rites of passage and alliances.

When Linnaeus named the tree in 1753, he chose 'Theobroma' — literally 'food of the gods'. Raw cacao reconnects with that heritage: not a dessert, but a drink of presence.

Criollo is the oldest and rarest variety of the cacao tree — less than 5% of world production. Where industrial varieties (Forastero) are bitter and robust, Criollo offers an aromatic finesse and natural sweetness that spare it from over-sugaring.

The decisive gesture is temperature: worked and dried below 42°C, the cacao stays raw. It then preserves its polyphenols (flavanols, notably epicatechin), its theobromine, magnesium, iron, and its well-being molecules — anandamide and phenylethylamine (PEA). Roasting, by contrast, develops the 'chocolate' aroma but degrades part of these heat-sensitive compounds.

We always work it below 42°C, to keep the bean alive. As a tablet sweetened with date and lucuma, as a ceremonial cacao whisked into hot (never boiling) water, or grated over a dessert. A small amount is enough: Criollo is dense, and its intention is received in slow sips rather than large gulps.