How to Prepare Ceremonial Cacao at Home: My Recipe and Ritual
Welcome — I’m Sorrell, Plant Spirit Medicine Woman, and I want to take you into my kitchen and show you exactly how I prepare my ceremonial cacao.
This is a simple ceremonial cacao — just cacao and water. I do love to blend herbs in with mine sometimes, but today we’re going plain and simple to make things easy. What I want you to understand is that the preparation itself is part of the ceremony. There is no separation between how you make this drink and how you meet its medicine.
What You Will Need
For one serving:
28–42g of ceremonial grade cacao paste (I work with 28g for my personal practice; up to 42g is a full ceremonial dose)
200–250ml of clean filtered water
A saucepan and a spatula — I prefer a spatula over a whisk as it gives a rich, creamy blend and wastes nothing
A set of scales
A cup that feels special to you
Optional: Palo Santo or sacred smoke for smudging your tools
I also like to have three cacao beans nearby to bury in the earth before I drink — an offering of gratitude to Mother Earth for this extraordinary gift she brings us.
Choosing Your Cacao
I work with several different ceremonial cacaos and I choose intuitively depending on what I’m called to on the day. In the video I’m working with the Spirit of the Valley cacao — a fresh new batch that had just arrived, really creamy, and I was very excited to work with her.
Whatever you choose, make sure it is:
100% pure cacao paste — no added sugar, milk powder, or emulsifiers
Ethically sourced and organic — everything we work with should be in harmony with nature
Prepared by hand where possible — all the cacaos I work with are hand-prepared, and I like to continue that approach through to the final cup
If you’d like to go deeper into the history and ancestral roots of cacao, I’ve written about this in The Spirit of the Valley Returns: Honouring Cacao’s Ancestral Roots.
The Preparation: Step by Step
Clean and smudge your tools
Before I begin, I clean all my tools physically and then smudge them with Palo Santo — ethically sourced, always. I smudge the knife, the board, the saucepan, the spatula, the scales, the bowl, and the water. The cacao itself may have picked up some energy on its journey to me, so I’ll gently smudge that too. I also smudge myself thoroughly before I begin. This isn’t performance. It’s preparation. It signals to your body, your mind, and the spirit of the plant that something intentional is about to happen.Weigh your cacao
I weigh out my cacao using scales — I aim for 28g for my personal daily practice, though I will sometimes work with up to 42g for a full ceremonial dose. Because I’ve been working with cacao for around five years now, 28g hits the spot perfectly for me. If you’re newer to ceremonial cacao, starting lower and finding your own relationship with the dose is the wisest approach.Heat your water and add the cacao
Pour 200–250ml of clean filtered water into your saucepan and bring it to the boil. Once boiling, turn the heat right down so it won’t boil the cacao, then add your cacao paste. You don’t want to boil the medicine — just allow her to warm and melt gently into the water.Stir with intention — and perhaps a song
As you stir, this is your moment to put your intentions into the cacao. Tune into how you want Mama Cacao to work with you today. What are you opening to? What are you asking for?I like to sing while I stir. This is something I learned from some of my shamanic teachers — a song for Mama Cacao that she and I downloaded together when we first started working with each other. I might sing longer and weave in different prayers depending on what I’m working with that day. It is a living practice, not a fixed script.
As you stir, check for lumps. Because ceremonial cacao is all handmade, there may be tiny grainy bits in the pan, but there should be no big lumps. Tilt the pan slightly to check the bottom. The theobromine in ceremonial cacao — its primary heart-opening compound — is heat-sensitive, which is why we never boil. You can read more about the cardiovascular and mood effects of theobromine on PubMed if you’re curious about the science behind the medicine.
Pour with gratitude
Turn off the heat and offer thanks — to the fire, to the water, to the plant. Then pour your cacao into your cup. I use a spatula so I can scrape out every last bit — no waste, no part of the medicine left behind.
Hold, tune in, and drink mindfully
Hold your cup in both hands and tune in: to the heart of the sky, the heart of the earth, and the heart of the cacao. Invite them to be present with you. Then sit down and drink slowly, with presence.After I’ve finished my cacao, I like to meditate for around 20 minutes — to give myself a chance to become still, to become empty, and to allow any messages travelling to me from Spirit and from Mama Cacao to be heard.
A Note on Dosage and Safety
I used to need a higher dose, but after five years of working with cacao, 28g is right for me now. If you are new, begin lower — perhaps 20g — and let your relationship with the plant develop over time. A full ceremonial dose of 40–42g is powerful and should be approached with respect and intention.
If you are taking antidepressants (particularly SSRIs or MAOIs) or have a heart condition, please seek guidance before working with ceremonial cacao. As a Medical Herbalist, your wellbeing always comes first — feel free to get in touch if you have any questions.
For a deeper dive into the science and spirit of cacao, read Sound Healing: How It Changes Consciousness and the Power of Gong — which explores the science behind why ceremony works so powerfully.
Ready to Experience Cacao in Sacred Space?
Preparing cacao at home is a beautiful solo practice — and I hope this has helped you understand how to make a really high-vibrational ceremonial drink that can carry you into a deep, healing, meditative state or on a shamanic journey.
If you feel called to experience cacao held within full ceremony — with sacred space, sound healing, and community — I invite you to join one of my Cacao and Gong Ceremonies, held online and in Margate, Kent. Or if you’re drawn to go much deeper, The Shaman’s Way: 13 Moons weaves cacao, ceremony, and sacred plant work across a full year of transformation.
Further Reading
If this post opened something in you, here are four places to go next:
1. Let’s Talk Cacao — A warm introduction to cacao as medicine: what she is, where she comes from, and why she matters.
2. Adaptogens and Ceremony: Allies for Stress, Burnout and Hormonal Balance — How to weave herbal medicine alongside your ceremonial practice for deeper support.
3. Journey to Meet Mama Cacao — Once you’ve prepared your cup, why not take a free guided journey to meet the spirit of the plant herself?
4. Walking the Shaman’s Way — If cacao has sparked a deeper calling, read about The Shaman’s Way: 13 Moons — a year-long journey of ceremony, plant allies, and shamanic initiation.
