Ceremonial Cacao Round, Edition of 25: 100% Single-Origin Guatemalan Cacao, Regeneratively Grown, Fire-Toasted and Hand-Peeled, 8 oz

Twenty-five rounds. Then never again.
Obsidian is the first edition of our ceremonial cacao: a half-pound round of pure, single-origin cacao, regeneratively grown by the Q'eqchi families of the Red Ratzum Cacao Collective in the forested mountains around Lanquín, Guatemala, then toasted over a wood fire, peeled by hand and ground on stone.

One Origin, One Collective, Twenty-Five Rounds

This is 100% cacao (Theobroma cacao) and nothing else: whole beans fermented, sun-dried, toasted by hand over a wood fire, peeled by hand, stone-ground and set into a round. No sugar, no added cacao butter, no emulsifiers, no flavoring. It is the form cacao took in Mesoamerica long before the chocolate bar, made to be shaved into hot water and whisked into a thick, bitter, deeply aromatic cup, and it is meant to be prepared slowly and taken on purpose.

Every round traces to a single origin: the mountainsides around Lanquín, in Alta Verapaz, where the Q'eqchi families of the Red Ratzum Cacao Collective grow cacao in diverse food forests beneath cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, black pepper and copal. Every round you hold comes from that one community and their one way of making it, never blended with cacao from anywhere else.

In the Maya world, obsidian traveled the same trade routes as cacao, and cacao beans were themselves a currency. This edition carries the stone's name. Twenty-five rounds exist, and when they are gone, Obsidian is gone with them. Each one arrives as a gift: wrapped in honeycomb paper, nested in kraft, with a preparation card on heavy kraft stock. Made to be opened slowly, or given to someone who will.

How It Is Enjoyed

Preparing it is simple, and the only real variable is how much you use. Shave or chop the round with a sturdy knife, then whisk the shavings into 6 to 8 ounces of hot water just off the boil, stirring until fully melted and glossy. For an everyday mug we use about 15 to 20 grams, roughly two heaped tablespoons of shavings. A traditional full-strength cup uses 30 to 40 grams and is thick enough to coat the spoon. Start on the lighter side if you are new to pure cacao: it is intensely bitter, and most people find their preferred strength within a few cups. Honey, a splash of milk or oat milk, cayenne, cinnamon and cardamom are the classic companions. An 8 ounce round makes roughly 6 to 15 cups depending on how strongly you prepare it. Keep it cool and dry, and if the surface develops a pale, dusty cast after a warm day, that is cacao butter bloom: harmless, and it disappears the moment it melts.

Our 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Not happy for any reason? Send it back within 30 days of delivery. We'll email you a prepaid return label and refund your purchase, less a flat $8.99 for return shipping.

What makes the Obsidian Edition special?

Only twenty-five of these rounds will ever exist. Obsidian is named for the volcanic glass that traveled the old Maya trade routes alongside cacao, in a time when cacao beans were themselves a currency, and each round carries that story in its black holographic seal. It arrives as a gift, wrapped and boxed with a preparation card, ready to keep for yourself or give to someone you love. Once the twenty-fifth round is gone, Obsidian is gone for good. Join our email list to be the first to hear what comes next.

Who grows and makes this cacao?

The Q'eqchi families of the Red Ratzum Cacao Collective, who farm the mountainsides around Lanquín in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. They grow their cacao in food forests beneath cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, black pepper and copal, without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, and the women of the same families toast and peel every bean by hand. Your round comes from one place and one community, and it is backed by our 30-day money-back guarantee.

What is the difference between this cacao round and your raw cacao powder?

They start from the same tree and end up as very different ingredients. Our raw cacao powder has had most of the cacao butter pressed out, which is what makes it a dry, mixable powder for smoothies, baking and quick drinks. This round is the whole bean, stone-ground with every bit of its natural cacao butter still in it, which is why it arrives as a solid disc and melts into a thick, glossy drink rather than dissolving. The round is also fermented, toasted and peeled by hand in Guatemala and made in editions of just twenty-five, while the powder is an everyday pantry staple. If you want something to stir into a morning smoothie, buy the powder. If you want to prepare cacao the way it was prepared before chocolate existed, this is the one.

How much cacao do I use per cup, and how many cups are in a round?

Shave or chop the round, then whisk the shavings into 6 to 8 ounces of hot water just off the boil until it is fully melted. For an everyday mug, 15 to 20 grams, about two heaped tablespoons of shavings, gives a rich bitter drinking chocolate. A traditional full-strength cup uses 30 to 40 grams and comes out thick enough to coat the spoon. At those amounts an 8 ounce round makes somewhere between 6 and 15 cups. Start lighter than you think and work up; pure cacao is intensely bitter, and most people land on a strength they love within a few tries. Honey, a little milk, cayenne, cinnamon and cardamom are the traditional companions.

Is this chocolate? Does it have sugar in it?

It is chocolate in the oldest sense, and it has no sugar at all. The only ingredient is cacao: the whole fermented, toasted, peeled bean, stone-ground until it flows and set in a round. Chocolate bars add sugar, extra cacao butter, and usually milk and emulsifiers; this has none of them. Expect it to be bitter, aromatic and dense. If you would like it sweeter, add honey, maple or panela to taste when you prepare it, which also lets you decide how much goes in.

Will it melt in shipping?

A solid round is far more heat-stable than ground cacao, and the box is wrapped and padded, but cacao does begin to soften above about 90°F. In warm months we ship early in the week so the box is not sitting in a truck over a weekend, and we mark it to be kept out of direct sun. If a round arrives soft, set it somewhere cool and it will firm back up; the flavor is unchanged. A pale, dusty cast on the surface after a temperature swing is cacao butter bloom, which is harmless and vanishes as soon as the cacao melts into your cup. If anything arrives in a state you are not happy with, our 30-day guarantee covers it.