Cacao, for the skin and beyond.

Here on my farm in Half Moon Bay, CA, the ground is beyond muddy, plants are sleeping and the harvest season feels very, very far away. While only a six hour flight south to Punta Gorda, Belize, my friends that farm cacao are out on their farms tending to rapidly growing cacao fruit trees. Their normal harvest season is more towards June, however some early pods are being harvested weekly, mostly for use at home in traditional Mayan teas and food, like corn and cacao soup, chocolate and elixirs. 

Here at home I have been going through my Belize botany notes. A handful of filled to the brim notebooks with scraps of paper, maps with notes and lines from interviews. The paper is swollen from rain, mud and chocolate, a in the moment reminder that transports me back to the jungle when I flip through the pages. 

There are many medicinal values associated with Theobroma cacao, for our purposes, we focus on the skin benefits. Cacao oil is a key ingredient in our Higher Ground facial serum, an oil that gives the serum it's signature, rich scent and color. Useful for circulation, hydration and skin cell repair, cacao continues to amaze me - and helps my skin look glowing and healthy. 

Want to take a virtual trip to Belize with me? Visit some of my past posts.