Mes Family's Cacao
Farmers: Jose Mes & Family
Watershed & Region: Blue Creek - Santa Cruz, Toledo District, Southern Belize
Refined Cacao Paste (liquor): Traditional 2 day Ferment, Washed & Dried Beans, Roasted, Winnowed, and Stone Melanged for 12-24 Hours, Untempered
The Journey: Each year beginning April-June it becomes harvest season for cacao and big celebrations of bounty happen throughout the land and cultures that reside throughout Belize. This year we were blessed to get the opportunity to sync our trip with the annual Cacao Festival in Southern Belize’s Toledo District to celebrate the culture cacao holds for these villages. A section of this event is held on the present day temple grounds and ruins of Uchben’Kaj, where we were able to connect with the village of Santa Cruz and witness their traditional deer dance and preserved cultural heritage through their direct relationship with cacao and the history they hold. The women’s collective of the village were offering various chocolates of their customary flavoring, some mixed with coconut, conhune nut, and nibs. One of the women, only fluent in one of the three maya languages still spoken today, directed us to her family’s cacao farm across the street to meet with her family and inquire beans. Each year we make a point to reconnect with these more rural villages in Southern Belize and every time we are met with such generosity and warm greetings. We are happy to share the unique flavor that this Village along the Blue Creek brings and connect to the ancestral wisdom of people and place through the years that have cultivated this plant to be today.
454g Brick :: $50.00 + s&h
Farmers: Jose Mes & Family
Watershed & Region: Blue Creek - Santa Cruz, Toledo District, Southern Belize
Refined Cacao Paste (liquor): Traditional 2 day Ferment, Washed & Dried Beans, Roasted, Winnowed, and Stone Melanged for 12-24 Hours, Untempered
The Journey: Each year beginning April-June it becomes harvest season for cacao and big celebrations of bounty happen throughout the land and cultures that reside throughout Belize. This year we were blessed to get the opportunity to sync our trip with the annual Cacao Festival in Southern Belize’s Toledo District to celebrate the culture cacao holds for these villages. A section of this event is held on the present day temple grounds and ruins of Uchben’Kaj, where we were able to connect with the village of Santa Cruz and witness their traditional deer dance and preserved cultural heritage through their direct relationship with cacao and the history they hold. The women’s collective of the village were offering various chocolates of their customary flavoring, some mixed with coconut, conhune nut, and nibs. One of the women, only fluent in one of the three maya languages still spoken today, directed us to her family’s cacao farm across the street to meet with her family and inquire beans. Each year we make a point to reconnect with these more rural villages in Southern Belize and every time we are met with such generosity and warm greetings. We are happy to share the unique flavor that this Village along the Blue Creek brings and connect to the ancestral wisdom of people and place through the years that have cultivated this plant to be today.
454g Brick :: $50.00 + s&h
Farmers: Jose Mes & Family
Watershed & Region: Blue Creek - Santa Cruz, Toledo District, Southern Belize
Refined Cacao Paste (liquor): Traditional 2 day Ferment, Washed & Dried Beans, Roasted, Winnowed, and Stone Melanged for 12-24 Hours, Untempered
The Journey: Each year beginning April-June it becomes harvest season for cacao and big celebrations of bounty happen throughout the land and cultures that reside throughout Belize. This year we were blessed to get the opportunity to sync our trip with the annual Cacao Festival in Southern Belize’s Toledo District to celebrate the culture cacao holds for these villages. A section of this event is held on the present day temple grounds and ruins of Uchben’Kaj, where we were able to connect with the village of Santa Cruz and witness their traditional deer dance and preserved cultural heritage through their direct relationship with cacao and the history they hold. The women’s collective of the village were offering various chocolates of their customary flavoring, some mixed with coconut, conhune nut, and nibs. One of the women, only fluent in one of the three maya languages still spoken today, directed us to her family’s cacao farm across the street to meet with her family and inquire beans. Each year we make a point to reconnect with these more rural villages in Southern Belize and every time we are met with such generosity and warm greetings. We are happy to share the unique flavor that this Village along the Blue Creek brings and connect to the ancestral wisdom of people and place through the years that have cultivated this plant to be today.
454g Brick :: $50.00 + s&h
It is with deep gratitude that we are able to turn this passion project of ours into a small business with the mission to directly support these Maya families while bridging this medicine to our loved ones of the North. We pour every ounce of our love into this process of Sourcing, Processing, Packaging, Marketing, and Distributing, so it can now be received into your hearts and hands, and so that we may continue cultivating a 20+ year relationship with Belize that is sustainable for many more years to come.
We offer sliding scale donation & trade value for all of our products to encourage making this medicine accessible, supportive, and to invite an energetic exchange that feels balanced according to each individual. Because we are a small scale business and source a majority of our beans from single-farm origins, we are only able to fulfill orders up to 5lbs per person this year to allow the opportunity for the medicine to spread throughout our communities far and wide. We appreciate your support and getting to share our love of these people and places with you in this way!
::INGREDIENTS::
100% Organic Cacao Paste
::SERVING SIZE::
Daily Dose: 20g-28g
Ceremonial Dose: 30-40g
Slice and chop cacao into a powder consistency and combine with 8-10 oz of liquid (water, milk/nut mylk, herbal tea) that is hot but under boiling temperature. Add an optional sweetner like raw honey or maple syrup and spice to your desire (bird pepper/cayenne, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric). Whisk or blend ingredients together until frothy and intentionally enjoy! Use as a substitute for cocoa powder in baking ingredients, or temper into a personally crafted chocolate bar!