What is a cacao ceremony?
A group sits together and drinks ceremonial cacao, slowly, with an intention for the gathering. Someone guides it: there is usually music, a few words to begin, and stretches of silence. That is most of it. There is no script you need to know and nothing you have to perform.
The drink is not hot chocolate. Ceremonial cacao is usually the whole cacao bean, roasted and ground into a paste, with the cacao butter still in it and little or no sugar added. Melted into hot water it is thick, bitter and earthy, closer to a dark soup than a dessert.
It is not a psychedelic. Cacao contains theobromine and a little caffeine, both mild stimulants, which is why people often describe feeling warm, alert and a bit more open rather than altered.
Where it comes from
For a long time cacao was thought to have started in Mexico and Central America, where the Maya and later the Aztecs drank it in rituals and at important occasions. Then in 2018 archaeologists published residues of cacao on pottery from Santa Ana-La Florida, in Zamora-Chinchipe in southern Ecuador, dated to about 5,300 years ago. It is the oldest domesticated cacao found anywhere.
The circle format most people join today is much newer, shaped over the last few decades on top of those older traditions. It helps to know both things: the plant has a very long history here, and the ceremony as you will experience it is a modern practice that honors it.
What happens at Portal de Paz
Monica leads the ceremonies. She also teaches yoga and sound baths at Portal de Paz, in a hall with a bamboo roof, the cloud forest outside and, most afternoons, rain on top.
- You sit in a circle with the group.
- Everyone receives a cup of cacao.
- Monica invites each person to hold an intention for the gathering.
- Music and moments of shared silence follow, with time to listen inward.
Monica's cacao sessions last 60 to 90 minutes and, as she describes them on siddhahealings.com, bring in guided breathwork, meditation and sound healing alongside the cup.
No experience is needed, and it is a gentle practice. If you are only in Mindo for a day or two, message Monica early so she can tell you when the next circle is.
How it feels
Most people notice warmth first, then a slow lift: a little more awake, a little more talkative, easier to sit still. Some feel very little beyond a full stomach. Both are normal.
Much of what people value comes from the hour itself: sitting with other people, phones away, with nowhere else to be. The cacao sets the pace for that. It does not do the work for you.
Who should check first
How to join
Message Monica on WhatsApp using the button on this page. She will tell you the next date, the price and anything to bring. Portal de Paz is near the park, in the center of Mindo.
If you want to see the bean before the cup, Mindo has its own small chocolate makers who give tours in town. Doing both in the same trip is a good way to understand what you are drinking.
