MamaZing Delectables Cacao

We are passionate at MamaZing about healthy, ethically sourced goods that nourish the body and the Earth.  We are pleased to work with Sally and Corin at  Seleno Health who direct source Cacao and Maca from Peru where Sally is from.  These two work with the farmers from planting to harvest most years.  The Cacao we receive from them is the most delicious, nourishing Cacao we have ever tried.  It is ethically grown and harvested.  And is prepared with ceremony and love.  We use this Cacao in all of the goods we make.  And offer it to the public at markets and soon online.  We love Cacao!

100% pure organic, single-origin, raw Cacao powder, Cacao mass and Cacao butter. Our Cacao is fermented and sun dried, before being milled and pressed to seperate the butter from the Cacao mass, following ancient traditions. It is packed with anadamide, tryptophan, PEA, polyphenols, magnesium, zinc and other essential minerals, with beautiful rich aromatic flavour. Corin and Sallt personally source our beans from Peru to find the most potent, therapeutic & flavour rich cacao possible. Every batch is tested and shown to be safe from heavy metals and cadmium. We go beyond fair trade and work exclusively with one family farm that uses sustainable natural agroforestry practices. Our cacao is artisinally grown, fermented and dried (below 47oC), while maintaining neutral acidity to provide the best aroma and taste. Connect with our cacao and let it open your heart and heal your body.

Ceremonial Cacao Paste – How it Differs

Our ceremonial paste is a healing and heart opening elixir produced and blessed respecting mother nature and her frequency. It is 100% pure organic, single-origin, ceremonial grade cacao paste. Made only from virgin crop, meaning the first crop of the tree and hand-selected pods resonating at the right frequency for healing. These beautiful pods provide the fruit and seeds that are then fermented and the dried full beans are milled into a creamy, rich paste following ancient traditions. It contains all the antioxidants and bioactives of the whole bean, with beautiful rich aromatic oils to make a therapeutic, creamy elixir that is hardened into blocks and blessed for you to consume in ceremony.

“all of our ceremonial cacao is grown respecting the frequency of mother nature and blessed with love”

 
 
 

Ceremonial Cacao Paste NZ

 

Our Organic Shade-Grown Rescue Cacao

Not all cacao is created equal, here are 4 important reasons to choose our Cacao:

1. It is Farm to Table. Our cacao is organic, direct from a small artisanal farm in Peru. When you buy our cacao our farmer receives a significantly higher price than what they received previously from a broker, its better than fair – it’s profit sharing.

2. It is empowering and rescuing farmers. After years of violence from terrorists and drug traffickers in the cacao growing region of Peru due to the cocaine industry, these farmers now have an opportunity to grow artisanal cacao instead of being lured into the illegal drug trade for money. You are helping rescue farmers and families from the drug trade and rescue the ancient traditions surrounding cacao in Peru.

3. It is sustainably farmed. This cacao is agroforestry ’shade-grown’ under the shadow of many native fruits, with an organic canopy protecting crops like banana and papaya. Cacao naturally loves to grow under a forest canopy, so there is less stress on the tree, it promotes biodiversity, improves soil fertility and sequesters 30% more carbon than non-shade grown cacao.

4. It is tested and safe from heavy metals. All our cacao is analysed and tested for a range of heavy metal contaminants, in particular cadmium which is a big problem in the Central and South American growing regions. Naturally high levels of Cadmium occur in the soil due to volcanic activity, so it is always important to check heavy metal levels in the cacao to ensure it is safe to consume.

Seleno cacao

  Corin and Sally of Seleno Health.  They are our direct connection to the Cacao farmers.

   

Know the journey of your cacao

Cacao is actually a seed that comes wrapped in a white sweet fruit inside a pod that grows on the cacao tree (Theobroma cacao). Our cacao pods grow in a variety of colours and show defined colour changes in the lines when ripe. Pods ripen at different times so the tree needs to be harvested regularly. 14 pods are required to produce 1 kg of cacao, so a single tree can only produce 2-4 kg of cacao per year. The pods are then pruned and opened to release the fruit and seeds (cacao beans). The fruit itself has a sweet juicy flavour and is also a good source of probiotics. It is possible to produce fermented probiotic drinks from the cacao fruit and is one way the fruit can be used.

Once harvested the cacao fruit is extracted and fermented for 5-7 days in fermenting containers or more traditionally wrapped in banana leaves. It is turned regularly to ensure the temperature remains relatively constant throughout fermentation. Fermentation helps bring out the desired flavours of the cacao, and it adds a body and richness that unfermented beans lack. It also tames the cacao seed’s bitterness by reducing the amount of tannins found in the beans thanks to cellular changes that occur during the process.

After fermentation the beans are laid out to dry and slowly turned and separated until completely dry. These beans are then ready for direct consumption or will be de-husked and sent for processing to be turned into our nibs (shredded whole beans without the husks), ceremonial paste (milled whole beans), butter (heat pressed paste to release the fat and cacao mass) or cacao powder (the left over mass from heat pressing).