The Great Canadian Cacao Drought of 2016

It took us quite a while to use up the 150 pounds of cacao we brought back from our trip to Guatemala in 2015. When we eventually did start to run low we placed several orders with Keith and Barbara in 2016 for 30 and 40 pounds to allow us to continue sharing #cacaoceremonies. We really had to plan ahead as the turnaround time between placing the order and receiving the cacao was about 2 months.

We loved receiving the packages of #ceremonialgradecacao from Guatemala with all the stamps required to have it sent from there to Canada. We were invited to share #cacaoceremony in several different communities near where we live on Vancouver Island. One of our favorites was sharing a #cacaoceremony and sound journey in a tipi with our soul sister, Astaria Light. We’d never offered a #ceremony in a tipi before and it was a bit tricky to tend the fire as well as co-facilitate the sound journey! Just like always we learned a lot about when, where and how we’d choose to do things in the future. It’s been pretty awesome to be invited to share unique and fun offerings in many places around the planet. We've learned a lot about discernment about deciding which events make the most sense energetically so that we are able to maintain balance and harmony in our lives as ceremonialists.

When Kristin and I placed our next order with Keith’s Cacao in September of 2016 we were notified by Barbara that the Guatemalan postal service was on strike and that it might take a few weeks for them to sort out the shipping. We never thought too much about it until they contacted us a few weeks later saying they were refunding our order and that they weren’t sure when the postal service would be back up and running. We felt a bit confused about not being able to obtain this wonderful heart medicine. We had grown very fond of the consistent high quality and medicinal effects of sharing #keithscacao in our #ceremonies. We scheduled a few more ceremonies at the end of 2016 with the intention us using up the last of our reserves of Keith’s Cacao and then taking a break to reassess all things #cacao related.

Toward the end of 2016 Kristin started exploring taking a yoga teacher training program at the yoga ashram in Pennsylvania where she had lived for 6 months in her early 20’s, called the Himalayan Institute. While exploring their website she was looking at the different members of their global outreach program and she decided to click on one man’s Facebook profile. She was amazed to discover pictures of cacao trees and pods on his profile! One of Kristin's old friends from the ashram had suggested that we get to know this man who had started a coffee and cacao business at the yoga ashram. We thought it must be a wink from the universe that she happened to find this man’s information after we had been unable to obtain more cacao from Guatemala.

Our curiosity was piqued so Kristin reached out to the man whose Facebook profile she had found, who runs a company called MOKA Origins at the Himalayan Institute's USA campus in Pennsylvania. We were interested to try some of the #cacao that they use to make chocolate bars with as he had several sources that seemed very intriguing. He agreed to send us #cacao samples of two different varieties, one from the Dominican Republic and another from Uganda. He seemed a bit unclear about what we were using the cacao for and hesitant to send us 100% pure #cacao as their company was so used to mixing it with sugar, nuts and fruit but we reassured him that we only wanted 100% pure #cacaopaste.

We awaited the arrival of the samples with great anticipation, hoping that we’d found ourselves a new source for #cermonialgradecacao. When the package arrived we we sat down and tried a small piece of the two different varieties of #cacao. One was so sour, astringent and bitter that it almost made our mouths turn inside out when we ate it. The other was SO smooth and delicious that we decided it would be worth investigating the energetic effects of a full #ceremonialdose. When we grated the #cacaopaste into a powder and mixed it into a drink we were pretty happy with the effects of a full #ceremonial dose of this new Ugandan #cacao.

We ordered 20 pounds of #cacao paste from this source and we used that #cacao to get us through a few last ceremonies we had planned in 2016. We decided to take a couple of months off from hosting #cacaoceremonies to reassess where we were at with things and also because we’d run out of #cacaopaste, so the timing was perfect to take a little break. We had gotten word from my mom, Cori, that she would be attending the #Cacao Convergence in Guatemala in January of 2017 and we asked if she would bring us back as much #KeithsCacao as she could fit into her suitcase!

The ”Cacao Fairy”, AKA Mama Cori, came through for us as she was able to bring back enough #ceremonialgradecacao for us to offer ceremonies from February to May of 2017. Kristin and I had decided that we would both take our yoga teacher training that summer in Pennsylvania while visiting her family and friends. We would also get to meet Jeff and get a closer look at the facility where he was making chocolate, which was located at the Himalayan Institute, where we would take our 200- hour yoga teacher training.

Canadian Cacao Adventures

We had hoped to be able to share some #cacaoceremonies on our drive back up the West Coast of the United States, however, it wasn’t until we returned to Canada that we hosted our first #ceremony outside of Mexico. A wonderful friend of ours who has a yurt invited us to host a ceremony on his property, which seemed like a sweet spot to host our first Canadian gathering.

We invited some friends and family members, and in the end there were 7 of us who shared that first #ceremony. Kristin and I learned a lot about ourselves in that first #Canadian #cacaoceremony and how important is is to be properly prepared, with more than enough time, and also what it means to be a solid facilitator. Some of the most challenging experiences we’ve had as facilitators has made us that much stronger and more resilient as we continue to walk this path into the unknown.

We had been approached by a good friend of ours to participate in a full-day event that was being held in a beautiful community near us that is right on the ocean's edge. We weren’t sure what it would be like, but it sounded exciting, so we agreed to host a #cacaoceremony for a large group there that day. We had never met the owners of the home that the event was being hosted in, however we had heard lovely things about them and the types of events they had hosted in the past.

When we arrived in the morning to get prepared we were told that there would be 38 guests for the #cacaoceremony! Wow! This was more than double the size of the largest group we’d ever facilitated for. Luckily for us we had the help of one of our biggest supporters and mentors, my mom, Cori. We had heard that the couple who was hosting the event loved #cacao and were huge advocates for its use as an addition to a vibrant lifestyle. We certainly knew some of the nutritional benefits of using #cacao as an everyday super-food dietary supplement, so it was exciting to meet other people who had similar knowledge.

I had ground 4 pounds of #keithscacao for the #ceremony that day and thankfully we had mom’s help with getting things prepared in the kitchen. The hosts were almost overly helpful in the kitchen arena. We later reflected on this situation with the understanding that she didn’t have a clue who we were or what we knew about #cacao or ceremonies, so they were committed to seeing that the #cacaoceremony would be loved and appreciated by all who attended.

The #cacaoceremony was a huge hit with the guests and afterword we had #Keithscacao for sale from the 150 pounds we had brought back with us in the trunk of our car from Guatemala. We must’ve sold 30 or 40 pounds that day and when all of the guests who were interested had bought some, the hosts told us that they would buy whatever we had left over!! Wow, this was beyond what we had imagined and truly blew our minds wide open to the possibility of these events being a integral part of our lives.

Kristin Allan, Tanner Ellingson, Keith's Cacao Canada, Keith's Cacao Source Canada, Cacao Connection, Cacao Canada, Cacao Ceremony Canada, Ceremonial Cacao canada, cacao canada, cacao BC, cacao alberta, cacao saskatchewan, cacao manitoba, cacao ontario, cacao quebec, cacao nova scotia, cacao new brunswick, cacao prince edward island, cacao newfoundland, ceremonial cacao vancouver, ceremonial cacao toronto, ceremonial cacao montreal, ceremonial cacao edmonton, ceremonial cacao calgary

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Kristin Allan, Tanner Ellingson, Keith's Cacao Canada, Keith's Cacao Source Canada, Cacao Connection, Cacao Canada, Cacao Ceremony Canada, Ceremonial Cacao canada, cacao canada, cacao BC, cacao alberta, cacao saskatchewan, cacao manitoba, cacao ontario, cacao quebec, cacao nova scotia, cacao new brunswick, cacao prince edward island, cacao newfoundland, ceremonial cacao vancouver, ceremonial cacao toronto, ceremonial cacao montreal, ceremonial cacao edmonton, ceremonial cacao calgary

Kristin Allan, Tanner Ellingson, Keith's Cacao Canada, Keith's Cacao Source Canada, Cacao Connection, Cacao Canada, Cacao Ceremony Canada, Ceremonial Cacao canada, cacao canada, cacao BC, cacao alberta, cacao saskatchewan, cacao manitoba, cacao ontario, cacao quebec, cacao nova scotia, cacao new brunswick, cacao prince edward island, cacao newfoundland, ceremonial cacao vancouver, ceremonial cacao toronto, ceremonial cacao montreal, ceremonial cacao edmonton, ceremonial cacao calgary

Kristin Allan, Tanner Ellingson, Keith's Cacao Canada, Keith's Cacao Source Canada, Cacao Connection, Cacao Canada, Cacao Ceremony Canada, Ceremonial Cacao canada, cacao canada, cacao BC, cacao alberta, cacao saskatchewan, cacao manitoba, cacao ontario, cacao quebec, cacao nova scotia, cacao new brunswick, cacao prince edward island, cacao newfoundland, ceremonial cacao vancouver, ceremonial cacao toronto, ceremonial cacao montreal, ceremonial cacao edmonton, ceremonial cacao calgary

Kristin Allan, Tanner Ellingson, Keith's Cacao Canada, Keith's Cacao Source Canada, Cacao Connection, Cacao Canada, Cacao Ceremony Canada, Ceremonial Cacao canada, cacao canada, cacao BC, cacao alberta, cacao saskatchewan, cacao manitoba, cacao ontario, cacao quebec, cacao nova scotia, cacao new brunswick, cacao prince edward island, cacao newfoundland, ceremonial cacao vancouver, ceremonial cacao toronto, ceremonial cacao montreal, ceremonial cacao edmonton, ceremonial cacao calgary

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Kristin Allan, Tanner Ellingson, Keith's Cacao Canada, Keith's Cacao Source Canada, Cacao Connection, Cacao Canada, Cacao Ceremony Canada, Ceremonial Cacao canada, cacao canada, cacao BC, cacao alberta, cacao saskatchewan, cacao manitoba, cacao ontario, cacao quebec, cacao nova scotia, cacao new brunswick, cacao prince edward island, cacao newfoundland, ceremonial cacao vancouver, ceremonial cacao toronto, ceremonial cacao montreal, ceremonial cacao edmonton, ceremonial cacao calgary

Kristin Allan, Tanner Ellingson, Keith's Cacao Canada, Keith's Cacao Source Canada, Cacao Connection, Cacao Canada, Cacao Ceremony Canada, Ceremonial Cacao canada, cacao canada, cacao BC, cacao alberta, cacao saskatchewan, cacao manitoba, cacao ontario, cacao quebec, cacao nova scotia, cacao new brunswick, cacao prince edward island, cacao newfoundland, ceremonial cacao vancouver, ceremonial cacao toronto, ceremonial cacao montreal, ceremonial cacao edmonton, ceremonial cacao calgary

We made so many wonderful new friends that day and we still continue to meet people who attended that #cacaoceremony that we never met who’ve thanked us for doing it. We recently hosted a small and very intimate full day gathering at this same lovely home in Sooke, BC. The couple had decided to sell their beautiful home and we thought it would be nice to have one last gathering there to share a #cacaoceremony as well as to say our goodbyes to this most wonderful gathering space. A short time after we hosted the #cacaoceremony at their house this summer, the woman of the house passed on from this life. What an honor to have known her and to have been invited to share our #medicine in her home.

Kristin and I had agreed to take another road trip, this being late summer of 2015. After we came back to Canada for just 6 short weeks, we hit the open road, headed for Houston, Texas to spend some time with one of Kristin’s oldest friends who was expecting her first child. We put our suitcase back into the trunk of our trusty VW Jetta and headed back to the United States, not really fully understanding of the magnitude of the next leg of the journey we were embarking on.