Ora Cacao

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,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. Ora Cacao ethically sources from thousands of small (0.5-5 acres) family farms in Belize Colombia Guatemala Tanzania and Uganda. Through our direct trade model we pay 100% more than commodity prices for cacao (compare this to the 10% premium from fair trade). Our farms are organic certified and use regenerative agroforestry practices which we verify on regular farm visits. Additional we insure our farmers against climate disasters with our Climate Resiliency Fund. Our ceremonial cacao discs are third party lab tests and incredibly easy to use - simply heat water or nut milk to 170F add
20-25 discs and make it creamy with a blender or hand held frother.

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