Relaunching 2027 | CMA Accredited
Cacao Training & Ceremony
A one-day practitioner training with a two-hour online integration. Grounded in research, ethics and safe practice, and in the traditions cacao comes from.With a brand new format, deeper research, established findings and a therapeutic lens to help therapists and coaches integrate Cacao into their work safely and with evidence
A course designed for:
Counsellors and therapists
Coaches
Yoga teachers
Massage therapists
Reiki healers
Sound healers
Holistic therapists
Spiritual practitioners
If you want to add ceremonial cacao to your work authentically, respectfully and safely, this is the course for you.
A gentle plant medicine of the heart
Ceremonial cacao is used more and more around the world for its physical, emotional and spiritual benefits, especially in ceremony. It brings people together and works with the heart space. It is subtle and powerful in the way it gently holds the person receiving it while opening them up to receive.
Whenever I drink it I see a bud open into an expansive flower at the heart, throat and third eye. It is my favourite plant to work with, which is why I share this training.
What’s new for 2027?
The same heart, with deeper roots
I first taught this course in 2022. Since then I have spent several years studying the research behind what I see in ceremony, alongside my Masters in Psychology. The 2027 course keeps everything that made the original special, and adds:
The research on cacao, mood and the body, read honestly, including what it does not yet show through evidence
A clear safety and scope framework, with up-to-date contraindications and referral guidance
A deeper look at ethics and sourcing, with current figures on the people who grow cacao
A therapeutic lens for therapists and coaches bringing cacao into their work
A 30-day practice and a two-hour online integration session
We learn through Three kinds of knowledge
Cacao sits where science, tradition and personal experience meet. Every piece of knowledge on the course carries one of three labels, so you always know what you are working with and can be just as clear with the people you serve.
Established Peer-reviewed research in people, with consistent findings. Taught plainly in language you’ll understand, with honest reflections on the size of the effect measured.
Emerging Early, small or animal research, or a reasonable idea not yet tested. Taught with "may", and with what is still unknown.
Traditional Ancestral, cultural, energetic and spiritual teaching. It holds its own authority within its tradition, and is shared as meaning, not as proof.
A Taste of the Research: What we know and what we don’t
Established
A 2022 review of nine studies found cocoa-rich products gave medium, short-term improvements in mood and in symptoms of depression and anxiety. Fusar-Poli et al., 2022
Established
Cocoa flavanols lower blood pressure by about 2 mmHg on average. It is one reason blood pressure medication is on our contraindications list. Cochrane review of 35 trials, 2017
Emerging
In one study, white, milk and dark chocolate eased pain equally, which suggests taste, pleasure and setting do much of the work. Dopamine is a potential link here too. As well as looking at why setting and environment is important. Hajati et al., 2023
Traditional
Cacao is honoured as a plant medicine of the heart, connected to the heart centre and to Pachamama, Mother Earth.
Most research so far uses chocolate or cocoa drinks. Studies of ceremonial cacao itself are still to come, and we are clear about that on the day so we can understand exactly what we can say about cacao confidently, and what is traditional wisdom without scientific backing. It is about being clear, so your clients are aware of the scope.
Course Content
What to Expect on the Day
Morning
The story of cacao
Often overlooked, and in my opinion the most important part of the course. Cacao is not native to Britain, so understanding its history, use and misuse is essential if your ceremonies are to honour its roots. We trace it from the first evidence of its use in the upper Amazon, about 5,300 years ago, through the Maya and the Mexica (Aztecs), colonisation and the chocolate bar, to where today's cacao ceremony actually comes from.
Ethics and sourcing
Who grows your cacao, and what are they paid? We look at child labour in the cocoa supply chain, the 2024 price spike and the crash that followed, and what ethical sourcing can look like. You will taste different cacaos and leave with clear questions to ask any supplier, including about heavy metal testing.
Ceremony one
Making cacao
Making cacao is a meditation in itself. Whether you are making it for 1 or 100 people, I share my own recipe and cook it for you all to try, with herbs and spices to tailor a ceremony to the individual. You will learn safe doses, and how to solve the practical problems that come up.
Afternoon
Body, mind and spirit
What the research shows about mood, blood pressure and the minerals in a cup; what it does not show; and what tradition teaches about cacao as medicine of the heart. You will learn how to talk to clients about benefits without overclaiming.
Safety, contraindications and scope
Cacao is generally safe, and there are important contraindications, including some antidepressants, heart conditions, blood pressure and blood-thinning medication, and pregnancy. You will learn how to screen, write a clear booking notice, offer smaller or cacao-free options, and recognise when someone needs referral instead of ceremony. We also cover the legalities: insurance, food hygiene, food business registration if applicable, allergens, first aid and keeping records.
Designing your ceremony
Altars, cards, journals, dance, sound, speech and story. You will design a two-hour ceremony that is right for you and your clients, and learn how to hold a sharing circle well. I share stories from the cultures where our cacao comes from, and encourage you to share your own wisdom from your time with Mama Cacao.
Ceremony two
Sitting with Mama Cacao
By now you have the information you need to hold a safe and supportive ceremony. This part of the day is about sitting with cacao. Cacao and Pachamama or Gaia are your greatest teachers when you listen, and we explore what comes up for you and how to bring it into your practice.
The next 30 days
Your 30-day practice
Build your own relationship with cacao before you share it, with a guided daily practice that moves through the physical, emotional and spiritual body, and a journal to record what you notice.
Online, 2 hours
Integration session
About a week after your practice ends, we meet online to reflect on what the 30 days showed you, read your journal through the three kinds of knowledge, and review the first ceremony you plan to hold.
A note on safe ceremony within your existing work…
This is a CMA accredited practitioner training in holding safe, ethical cacao ceremonies.
It is not a therapy qualification, and it does not train you to use cacao as a treatment for any mental or physical health condition.
Cacao supports wellbeing. But someone in crisis needs medical or crisis support, and we understand how to refer with care.
The course does not cover working with under-18s.
What’s included?
The training
One full day in person, 09:30 to 17:00
Two cacao ceremonies
A 30-day self-guided practice outline
A two-hour online integration session
Price: £180pp / Private groups from £500
You receive
A practitioner workbook with everything we cover and every source referenced for you to go deeper
A certificate of completion from a course accredited by the Complementary Medical Association (CMA)
A copy of the course content to show your insurer. The course has been signed off by numerous insurers.
Access to yearly, heavily subsidised Cacao Training CPD update with latest research, recommendations and findings to keep your practice up to date.
Looking for a private training or connection session?
Please feel free to email me becky@thehumblewarrior.co.uk to discuss or arrange a private training at your studio or with your community.
Dates and Locations for 2027
Coming soon
Research Articles
FAQs
Is cacao a plant medicine like ayahuasca?
No. Cacao is a food. It is a gentle stimulant with no psychedelic effect, and it is legal to buy and serve. Many traditions honour it as a plant medicine of the heart, and we work with it in that spirit.
Can I take part if I can't drink cacao?
Yes. You can take part in every part of the day without drinking it. Let me know before the course and we will talk through smaller or cacao-free options.
I'm a therapist or coach. Is this right for me?
Yes. The course includes a therapeutic lens and is clear about scope, so you can bring cacao into your work safely and stay within your professional boundaries.
Will my insurer accept the course?
The course has been signed off by numerous insurers, and you will receive a copy of the course content to show your own. Check with your insurer before you start offering ceremonies. I can also offer advise on insurers I would recommend.
I'm a sound therapist, human design and astrology teacher and researcher, and I'm currently completing a Masters in Psychology.
My work with cacao began around 2020, during the covid lockdowns, when I was learning new skills and welcoming more light into my life. I made cacao for myself and my partner every day as a small ceremony that brought us together when times were more than a little rough.
Since then I have held community, private and corporate ceremonies across the country, from offices and community halls to festivals and back gardens, and I have taught this training since 2022 when I designed it.
I'm passionate about the history of cacao, and it is the main reason I teach. Wherever we use this plant medicine, I want us to do it with respect for Mother Earth and for the present-day people and elders of the lands where cacao grows. The 2027 course brings in what I have learnt from studying the research, so you can share cacao with an open heart and a clear head. This started out as just a way of sharing cacao, but has turned into a mission to help train safely, ethically and professionally, with guidance from tradition and established research.
Becky x
Photos: Sober Flourish