You don’t need a retreat, a shaman, or a forest in Guatemala to have a cacao ceremony. You need good cacao, a quiet half hour, and a little bit of intention. That’s genuinely it. A cacao ceremony at home can be as simple as making a warm drink slowly and actually paying attention to it, which most of us almost never do.

Here’s how we’d guide a first-timer through it, the same way we talk people through it at the café in Amsterdam Noord. Take what’s useful, leave what feels too woo for you.

What a cacao ceremony actually is

Strip away the incense and it’s this: you drink a meaningful amount of pure cacao, with intention, in a calm setting, and you let it gently shift your state. Cacao’s mild stimulant theobromine opens up your circulation a little and lifts your mood a notch (we explain the chemistry in does ceremonial cacao make you high), which makes it easier to meditate, journal, move, create, or just sit with yourself without your brain sprinting off.

It’s not psychedelic. It’s not a religion. Traditionally, cacao has been used as a sacred and social drink in Mesoamerica for thousands of years, so a bit of respect for that lineage is only fair, but the version you do at home is yours to shape. If you want the deeper background, our piece on what ceremonial grade cacao is covers the why.

What you’ll need

• Ceremonial-grade cacao, the whole-bean kind, not defatted cocoa powder. This is the one thing you can’t fake. We grind ours from whole beans in Amsterdam: a 250g bag is plenty for many sessions, and the starter kit bundles everything if you’re beginning from zero.
• A small pot and a whisk, or a milk frother. A proper cacao shaker makes it smoother and a little theatrical, in a good way.
• A cup you like. Sounds trivial. It isn’t. The right mug makes the ritual feel like a ritual.
• Hot water or your favourite milk (oat and almond both work beautifully), a pinch of sweetener if you like (honey, maple, a little sugar), and optional spices: cinnamon, cardamom, chilli, vanilla, a tiny pinch of salt.
• 30 to 60 minutes where no one needs you.

How much cacao to use

For a real ceremonial dose, most people use somewhere around 25-42 grams of pure cacao (roughly 3-5 heaped teaspoons, or about a third to a half of a 100g block). If that’s your first time, start at the lower end. A casual daily cup is more like 10-20 grams. We go into this properly in how much ceremonial cacao you should drink, including who should keep it modest. The headline: more is not more. The sweet spot is “I clearly feel it and I feel great”, not “my heart is racing”.

Step by step

1. Set the scene (2 minutes)

Tidy your spot. Phone on silent or in another room. Maybe a candle, maybe some music without lyrics, maybe just quiet. You’re telling your nervous system this is different from your other fourteen cups today.

2. Make the cacao (5 minutes)

Chop or measure your cacao into a cup. Add a splash of hot (not boiling) water and stir into a smooth paste, then top up with the rest of your hot water or warm milk. Whisk, froth or shake until it’s velvety. Add sweetener and spices to taste. It should taste rich and a little bittersweet, like a drink you want to take seriously. Want a proper foam on top? Here’s how to create holy foam on your cacao.

3. Set an intention (1 minute)

Before the first sip, ask yourself one honest question. What do you actually want from the next hour? Clarity on something? Rest? A creative push? Just to feel okay? You don’t have to say it out loud. You just have to mean it. Cacao doesn’t grant wishes; it’s more like a friend who helps you hear yourself.

4. Drink slowly and arrive (10-15 minutes)

Hold the cup. Smell it. Sip like you have nowhere to be. Notice the warmth moving down and the slight flush in your chest after a bit. This is the part everyone wants to skip and the part that does the work. If a thought wants attention, let it come, then come back to the cup.

5. Do your thing (15-30 minutes)

Now you ride the gentle lift. Pick one: meditate, journal, breathwork, gentle stretching or dancing, a walk, drawing, or simply sitting in silence. Cacao tends to make people more open and a little more focused, so this is a lovely window for anything that needs you to be present. There’s a reason we wrote about why pure cacao boosts creativity.

6. Close it (2 minutes)

Before you rejoin the day, take a breath and notice how you feel compared to before. A quiet “thanks” to the bean, to the farmers, to yourself for taking the time, is a nice way to land. Then drink some water.

A simple cacao ceremony recipe

For one cup:

• 25-30g ceremonial cacao (first-timers), up to ~40g once you know how you respond
• 150-200ml hot water or plant milk
• 1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional, to taste)
• Pinch of cinnamon, tiny pinch of sea salt, optional pinch of chilli or cardamom

Melt the cacao into a splash of the hot liquid, top up, whisk or shake until smooth and frothy, season, sip slowly. That’s the whole recipe. The ceremony is the attention, not the ingredients.

A few honest tips

• Mornings are great, late evenings less so, because there’s a little caffeine in there. See when to drink cacao and when not to.
• Don’t do it on a totally empty stomach if you tend to get queasy. A light snack first is fine.
• It’s allowed to feel like nothing happened the first time. Subtle is normal. The ritual still counts.
• Want company and guidance? Our cacao workshops in Amsterdam are a gentle way to experience it with other people before you DIY at home.

That’s it. No mountain, no plane ticket, no special powers. Just you, a good cup of cacao, and a little time you actually claimed for yourself. Stay wild.