'Ceremony', 100% Pure cacao disc from The Cacao Club

Ceremony, Guatemala

— A 100% ceremonial cacao disc, to purely connect with the essence of cacao.

‘Ceremony’ adds up to the number of Guatemalan cacao we’ve been given to experience.

It is also our first properly recurring origin, as another brand in the Cacao Guide uses these same beans in their process.

It gifts us with an interesting position to notice the subtleties in crafting cacao, as we know it only takes one tiny difference in the process for the outcome to be completely novel. Let’s see how it develops!

Discover its terroir below, and go through our tasting notes and effects feedback to learn more about this beautiful cacao!

Cacao Guide

The Cacao Club

"From the way its effects slowly rose and unveiled, to the cozy and heartwarming feeling we had through the whole experience, this cacao felt like a tiny drop of bliss slowly diluting in our mind & bodies."

N.B. : This article contains an affiliate link and a 10% discount code available for a first purchase. These advantages are here to compensate the time and work we put in our project. Yet, we’re dedicated to staying objective in our analyses.
Enjoy them if you want to try new cacaos while supporting us 🙂

Terroir

ORIGIN COUNTRY

GUATEMALA

REGIONS

ALTA & BAJA VERAPAZ

POST-HARVEST HANDLER

FEDECOVERA

HARVEST YEAR

2021

BEANS VARIETY

[Mix] LOCAL TRINITARIO ACRIOLLADO

STORY & INFORMATION

This ‘Ceremony’ disc — as well as The Cacao Club’s whole range — is made using cacao beans sourced from FEDECOVERA, a Guatemalan cooperative of cooperatives (yes!)

The cooperative members are composed of smallholder farmers, native Q’eqchi’ Maya (mostly) as well as Pocomchi’ Maya, located in the regions of Alta y Baja Verapaz.
A trusted source involving no other third-party than the mother cooperative itself, making it a semi-direct trade model, guaranteeing (proper) fair & consistent buying prices to each farmer involved.

It is not the first time we mention this origin as VaiCacao also trusted FEDECOVERA to supply beans for their Q’eqchi’ Cacao.

Post-harvest treatment of the beans is handled in centralized facilities, where the crucial steps of fermentation and drying of the beans are performed. Beans are then packed and ready for export.

The brand is taking care of the import so the beans directly reach their workshop in Melbourne.
From there, the artisanal and minimalist transformation process follows.
Beans are slowly roasted, winnowed and stone-ground into paste, which will be molded into disc-shaped trays and appropriately tempered. And there you have it, 100% pure cacao, ready to be turned into a drink.

Details

IN HANDS

COLOR – Brown
SMELL – Balanced – Woody, lightly roasted, sweet notes
SHAPE – Disc

IN CUPS

COLOR – Light brown, orange hue
SMELL – Hot Chocolate, chocolate cake dough
FOAM – Beige

Tasting notes

Aromas:

Predominantly tangy, drifting towards a slight acidity. A touch of honey appears punctually. Ends on a vegetal note reminding us of raw white almond.

Remarks:

From our experience tasting Guatemalan cacaos, we’re used to feel a certain kind of dryness in our drinks — characterized by a liquid texture and an important residue. This cacao made no exception and reinforced our idea that this feature seems to be inherent to the beans coming from this part of the world.

Yet we did have access to more aromas than usual. The reason for it seems to be a longer grinding — according to the solid disc’s texture — which would allow for a better spread of the cacao butter throughout the paste. The residue ‘s texture and size also point in that direction.

The taste is light and approachable. The mouthfeel is rather watery. Combined to a tangy profile, it offers a tea-like experience that may be balanced by adjusting the cacao(+)/water(-) ratio.

Effects experienced

→ Peaceful | Relaxing | Gentle

If we had to use only one word to describe what this cacao brought us, it’d be softness.

From the way its effects slowly rose and unveiled, to the cozy and heartwarming feeling we had through the whole experience, this cacao felt like a tiny drop of bliss slowly diluting in our mind & bodies.

We could feel a pleasant duality settling down: on one hand there was an enjoyable heaviness in our bodies, inviting us to slowly sink deeper into our seats ; on the other hand, our mind pressed pause and we could sense a rather uplifting movement arising from between our temples.

This cacao really highlighted the relaxing qualities of the plant, leaving aside the frequent boost of energy that follows.

The effect in itself wasn’t weak, but it came and go with a particular gentleness that really moved us.

We would envision ourselves using this cacao for a moment dedicated to tranquility, whether it’d be through a meditation practice or listening to soothing music for instance. It felt suitable for an introspective journey, enhancing the feeling of being connected with our environment.

We hope you enjoyed this content! If you’d like to try Ceremony, feel free to use our 10% discount code: CACAOINSIGHTS, available on your first order.