Ingredients
It’s all about what’s inside...
At Viva Cacao, we produce and celebrate delicious small-batch dairy-free chocolate using heirloom beans, healthy ingredients, superfoods and ethically-sourced cacao.
We want to make a difference in the lives of cacao farmers, stand up to big industry, and help you make sustainable, ethical choices at the till.
When you choose Viva Cacao, you’re supporting a chocolate producer who puts a lot of thought into every single ingredient…
Superfoods
Our chocolate bars are all about superfoods like maca, lucuma, camu camu, carob and reishi (a medicinal mushroom). These special ingredients are nutrient-dense and are packed full of vitamins and minerals. These superfoods also act as an amazing vehicle for your body to access and absorb all of our chocolatey goodness.
Cacao
Cacao is the ultimate alchemical delivery vehicle of medicinal substances into the body and amplifies the effect of medicinal substances taken with it.
Cacao
Coconut Sugar
The most sustainable sugar on the planet.
Coconut Sugar
Peppermint
This aromatic plant has cooling properties, making it a fresh and energizing addition to our chocolate.
Peppermint
Hemp Seed
These tiny, nutty gems are healthy and sustainable source of complete protein.
Hemp
Seeds
Chai Spice
An organic mix of ginger, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.
Chai Spice Blend
Cardamom
Used for thousands of years in both Ayurvedic and Chinese traditional medicine.
Cardamom
Maca
Maca is an important traditional food and medicinal plant.
Maca
Lucuma
A sweet caramel-like superfruit.
Lucuma
Camu Camu
A berry from the Peruvian rainforest, high in vitamin C helping the body absorb the iron from the cacao.
Camu Camu
Carob
When carob is used in conjunction with cacao, the rich calcium content of carob combines alchemically with the magnesium in cacao and creates a taste explosion.
Carob
Reishi
The Reishi mushroom has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 4,000 years for treating fatigue, asthma, cough and liver ailments, and to promote longevity.
Reishi
Pink Salt
Himalayan Rock Salt contains the same 84 natural minerals and elements found in the human body.
Himalayan Rock Salt
Cacao was referred to by the Aztecs and Mayans as Yollotl Eztli (heart blood) for its sensual love vibration. Whew! Is it getting hot in here?! The cacao bean not only opens your heart, it’s full of magnesium, iron, calcium, antioxidants, carbohydrates and heart-healthy fat and fibre. We are so thankful 2,000 years ago, the Aztecs and Mayans of Central America found a way to produce chocolate from the seeds of the cacao tree. Since then, this magic potion has inspired devotion around the world.
Fun Fact: Cacao pods are the fruit of the cacao tree and it takes a cacao tree five years to produce its first pods. Each tree produces around 1,000 beans a year, but that is only enough to make just 1 kilogram of chocolate. Every stage of cacao production is done by hand.
Benefits:
- High levels of Magnesium
- Increased alkalinity in the body, which helps prevent disease
- Soothes PMS symptoms
- Low magnesium levels are likely the reason that women crave chocolate before during or after their menstrual period. It also has hormone-balancing effects and natural endorphins.
- Rich in antioxidants: Dark chocolate has 13,120 per 100 grams. compare this with:
- Prunes – 5,770
- Raisins – 2,830
- Blueberries – 2,400
- Kale – 1,770
- Contains Theobromine, Phenylethylamine (the love chemical), Tryptophan, Serotonin and Anandamide (the bliss chemical)
Cacao is the ultimate alchemical delivery vehicle of medicinal substances into the body and amplifies the effect of medicinal substances taken with it.
To learn more about where our cacao comes from, click here.
We use coconut sugar as the sweetener in all of our chocolate bars…why? It is one of the most sustainable sugars on the planet and It’s low-fructose, nutrient-rich content gives it a serious edge over other sweeteners because it’s not refined or chemically-altered. It’s straight-up natural sap that is tapped from the coconut tree’s flower buds. It’s low on the glycemic index and abundant in 17 amino acids, B vitamins, vitamin C, FOS (promotes digestive health), potassium as well as other minerals.”
The most sustainable sugar on planet.
This aromatic plant is a premier herb for digestive issues including IBS, upset stomach, indigestion, nausea, and gas. Peppermint inhibits histamine release alleviating allergy symptoms, and its expectorant properties help clear the respiratory tract and relieve cough and cold symptoms.
Hemp seeds, or hearts, are incredibly nutritious!
They contain 30% fat and are rich in Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids which promote brain health. Gamma linolenic-acid influences hormones to reduce PMS and menopause symptoms, and like arginine, both compounds work to reduce inflammation and prevent heart disease.
These tiny, nutty gems are a healthy and sustainable(!) source of complete protein, vitamin E, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, magnesium, sulfur, calcium, iron and zinc.
This organic mix includes ginger, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.
In the Ayurvedic tradition this chai blend aids in digestion, increases immunity and circulation., fights inflammation and helps restore the body with its antioxidant properties. Not only does each spice have its own health benefits but together these herbs work synergistically to provide a broader, more robust effect.
Cardamom is packed with iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, manganese and vitamin C. It’s antibacterial properties are useful against common food poisoning bacteria. Used for thousands of years in both Ayurvedic and Chinese traditions to alleviate digestive issues, ulcers and nausea. Cardamom also improves oxygen intake and breathing, protects the liver, prevents anxiety and is a powerful aphrodisiac! production is done by hand.
Regular use of cardamom:
- Lowers blood pressure
- Enhances enzymes that fight cancer
- Protects the body from chronic disease by reducing inflammation
Maca is a nutritionally-rich superfood. This radish-like root grows at high elevations in Bolivia and Peru. It has been called “Peruvian ginseng” and is rich in vitamins B, C and E. It also provides plenty of calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and amino acids.
Maca may have the following benefits when consumed regularly:
- Increases energy and endurance
- Rebuilds weak immune systems
- Stops bone mineral loss
- Good for healthy teeth and bones
- Enhances memory, learning and mental ability
- Helps fight stomach cancer
- Alleviates depression, anxiety and stress
- Alleviates menstrual disorders, menopause symptoms, sterility and other reproductive/sexual disorders due to its hormone-balancing effects
- Improves sexual function in men and women and enhances fertility
- Helps circulation
- Speeds wound healing and reduces anemia
- Increases overall vigor
Maca is an important traditional food and medicinal plant.
Lucuma is a sweet caramel-like superfruit from Peru. It is rich in B3 (aids in depression), iron and carotene. It’s also high in calcium and fiber, and contains 14 essential trace elements. It’s also said to be anti-inflammatory.
This Peruvian berry is the most nutrient-dense botanical source of vitamin-C in the world, giving it incredible antioxidant capacities which help to detoxify the body of free radicals, benefitting overall health, immunity and energy. Camu camu also reduces inflammation and improve blood sugar levels.
Carob is rich in calcium content which combines alchemically with cacao’s high magnesium content, increasing the benefits of both.
The Carob tree produces fruit that comes in a pod, much like peas. They grow in a cylindrical shape supported by a thick trunk, from which the pods grow. The plant is native to the Mediterranean region and Northern Africa, as well as parts of the Indian subcontinent and Asia.
Carob is rich in Vitamins A and B, iron, protein, potassium, and a great source of calcium without any dairy needed. Carob contains polyphenols which are powerful antioxidants that protect your body against free radicals and environmental toxins.
Carob also provides between 30-36 percent of your daily allowance of calcium, a nutrient essential for proper blood clotting and maintaining a healthy heart.
When carob is used in conjunction with cacao, the rich calcium content of carob combines alchemically with the magnesium in cacao and creates a taste explosion.
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) is a mushroom known by the Chinese as the herb of “spiritual potency”.
Reishi is one of the oldest mushrooms to be used medicinally. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 4,000 years for treating fatigue, asthma, cough and liver ailments, and to promote longevity. It also has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties.
When taken regularly, Reishi can have the following benefits:
- Enables organs to function normally
- Improves blood circulation
- Balances the immune system
- Lowers blood pressure
The Reishi mushroom has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 4,000 years for treating fatigue, asthma, cough and liver ailments, and to promote longevity.
Himalayan rock salt has been maturing over the past 250 million years under intense tectonic pressure, untouched by many of the toxins and pollutants that pervade other forms of ocean salt.
It contains the same 84 natural minerals and elements found in the human body.
Himalayan rock salt’s unique cellular structure allows it to store vibrational energy. Its minerals exist in a colloidal form, meaning that they are tiny enough for our cells to easily absorb.