Sacred Chocolate bon-bon truffles are topped with rose petals, mango powder and even 24 carat gold

(NaturalNews) I don’t know where to begin with these Sacred Chocolate “Truth Truffles.” They’re made by the Sacred Chocolate company (www.SacredChocolate.com) which was founded by Sacred Steve — a guy with a lot of fans in the raw food and healthy living communities. He’s a super energetic, brilliant man with a truly out-of-this-world grasp of the artistry of making what are arguably the world’s finest chocolates (just check out the truly astonishing descriptions below if you don’t believe me… these read like fine French cuisine). When I received a sample of his Truth Truffle bon-bons, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing: This box of nine chocolate truffle bon-bons was priced at $38.00, or over four dollars for each truffle. The first thought that struck me was, “Who is going to pay four dollars for a chocolate truffle?” So I started asking around. The answers floored me and taught me a thing or two about peoples’ relationship with food… Fine chocolate that’s out of this world It turns out that fine chocolate is a lot like fine coffee or fine wine . Those who really appreciate the finest chocolates will give you an earful about how the subtleties of the cacao tastes fulfill their senses and deliver an extraordinary chocolate experience. And once you’ve had really, really good chocolate, you can never go back to plain chocolate. At least that’s what they tell me. I’m not a regular consumer of fine wines or fine chocolates, as I tend to focus more on nutritional density that taste subtleties. So I frankly didn’t know what to expect from these Sacred Chocolate Truth Truffle bon-bons. Nevertheless, I saved these for several weeks while asking people about their chocolate experiences, and I came to gain a deeper understanding of peoples’ relationship with chocolate — especially from women. Many women, it turns out, have an almost spiritual relationship with chocolate . This is no exaggeration, and it may help explain why the name of the active ingredient in cacao — theobromine — has the same Latin root as the word theology which means “the study of God.” Women prefer chocolate to sex? Lest you think I’m making this up, check out this survey from a food company (http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/independent-woman/love-sex/sorry-boys-most-women-prefer-chocolate-to-sex-2444716.html) which reveals that one-third of women dream about chocolate during the day while only 18 percent think about sex. For men, it’s the inverse: 60 percent of men think about sex during the day while only 11 percent think about chocolate. There’s something else: This same survey says that more than 20 percent of women would be willing to give up their sex lives rather than give up eating chocolate! Getting back to the Sacred Chocolate truffle bon-bons, I finally began to understand why people love them so much: If they really deliver this kind of satisfaction, many women would surely find them preferable to men . Plus, unlike a man, these chocolates stay put when you don’t need them, they don’t spend money on fast cars and heavy shop tools, and they’re always ready to go when you are. And when you want the best of the best in the world of fine chocolate, there’s truly nothing quite like Sacred Chocolate, which is why we now carry a nine-piece Truth Truffle bon-bon gift box for $38. One of the truffles is topped with 24-carat gold! (I didn’t know whether to eat it or toss it in a vault…) Click here to get this totally unique and RARE nine-piece gourmet chocolate gift box. (There are also several smaller, two-truffle gift packs available for nine dollars each.) This makes an amazing gift for anyone special in your life, and it contains what is certainly the most unique and complex chocolate flavors you’ve probably ever encountered. You get one of each of these luscious flavors: (seriously, this reads like the menu of a fine French restaurant…) Sacred Fire Dark – Chocolate ganache smoldering with ancho, morita, guajilo, pasillo, and chipotle chilies ignited by black pepper, cinnamon adorned with 24 carat gold. Yellow Tara – The Buddhist goddess of wealth, good fortune, and abundance inspired this bold, curry infused truffle. Covered with a heavy dusting of golden sun-ripened mango powder. Tangerina – A luscious citrus dark chocolate ganache infused with tangerine and orange oils, dusted with a stripe of Mineola tangola zest. A classic combination revisited. Purple Rose – The beautiful and fragrant roses of Kew Gardens and the wild purple sage of Marin County, California, inspired this very unique and royal truffle. Dark chocolate ganache infused with rose, purple sage. Adorned with a delicate pink rose petal. Cheeky Monkey – Dark chocolate ganache with caramelized banana, topped with crushed pecan and salt. Ajaya – The goddess of love entices by fusing dark chocolate ganache with lemon grass ginger, Balinese long pepper, and topped with lime zest. Lavendar Blue – Dark chocolate, wild blueberry and lavender ganache relaxes and refreshes. Adorned with fragrant lavender petals. Ixcacao (eesh-ka-cow) – Named in honor of the cacao goddess, Ixcacao infuses Peruvian Maca and Mesquite. Topped with Ocumare cacao nibs. Arctic Chi – The temperature plummets with dark chocolate ganache infused with peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, tarragon. Topped with shavings of cacao butter. Jubilee Cherries – Bing and Rainier. Folded into dark chocolate ganache. Topped with sweet and plump sun dried cherry. Click here to get some at the NaturalNews Store. INGREDIENTS : Mylk Chocolate Shell: *Cacao Butter, *Cacao Nibs, *Maple Sugar, *Coconut Sugar, *Coconut, *Whole Cacao Beans with SKINS, *Vanilla Bean. *ORGANIC — WILDCRAFTED 100% Organic, *Organic, Wildcrafted • Dairy/Gluten/Soy FREE. • Certified Organic Ingredients by Weight: Truffle Certification in Process • Cacao Content of the shell: 83% • Produced in a Facility that also Processes Nuts. Produced below 115 Degrees Fahrenheit. Enjoy this chocolate! And share it with someone who’s really, really special!

Heirloom cacao is ancient treasure of chocolate from the Ecuadorian rainforest

(NaturalNews) Most people have never eaten real chocolate. Sure, we’ve all wolfed down plenty of “chocolate” candies, bars and cakes. But as you’ll see here, very little of that is actually made from real chocolate. Virtually all the chocolate used in modern foods is derived from a hybridized cacao plant that lacks the phytochemical potency that gives real chocolate its many beneficial properties. So even though almost everyone has tasted chocolate, very few people have actually experienced true heirloom cacao from the original, phytonutrient-rich plants. Cacao originated in a region now spanning the border of Ecuador and Colombia. Its plants were discovered thousands of years ago, and the cacao fruit and seeds have been used throughout South American culture for as long as human history can remember. Heirloom cacao is called Arriba Nacional or just “Arriba” for short. That’s the real cacao from Ecuador, harvested from heirloom plants growing just the way they grew thousands of years ago. In comparison, virtually all the chocolate used in candy bars, chocolate chips, chocolate cakes, breads and so on is derived from the hybridized plant called CCN-51 — a pale shadow of the heirloom “Arribe Nacional” cacao it was supposed to replace. Most consumers have no idea the chocolate they’ve been eating is “watered down” with what is effectively a cheap, weakened cacao substitute. And if you’ve been eating that watered down chocolate all your life, you’re in for a real surprise when you get your hands on “Arribe Nacional” cacao, which has a deeper, more complex and “floral” flavor profile. My first taste of real chocolate My first experience of real chocolate was enjoyed in Ecuador, where I lived on and off for two years. One day I drove to a nursery in Zamora, a small city to the East of Loja (in Southern Ecuador). There, we picked fresh cacao pods right off the trees, sliced open the tops and began to eat the cacao fruit . Here’s a picture of me holding cacao pods from Zamora: http://www.naturalnews.com/Valley-of-Longevity-Property/photos/17.jpg Yes, cacao trees have fruit. It’s a thin layer of sweet fruity flesh surrounding the cacao bean, sort of in the way a lychee fruit has a layer of delicious white fruit flesh surrounding its central seed. Cacao fruit tastes a little bit like fresh lychee fruit, in fact, with a hint of chocolate flavor in it. Once you eat the fruit, you’re left with cacao seed pods. This is where “chocolate” comes from. The seed pods are usually ground into a fine powder, with the oils being mechanically separated from the non-oil substances which are then subjected to a combination of drying, fermentation and cooking (depending on who’s doing the processing), creating a finished cacao powder. This fine cacao powder is what goes into fine chocolates, often sweetened with sugars or enriched with milk fats. Hence the name “Milk chocolate.” However, the higher cost of heirloom chocolate has kept it out of the hands of all but the most selective chocolate artisans. The number of chocolate-making shops in America that use real heirloom cacao in their confections probably numbers less than ten. That’s why virtually no one in North America has ever tasted real chocolate before. How I met the founder of Pacari In Ecuador, there’s a company producing 100% heirloom cacao that’s truly raw (never goes above 118 degrees during processing), truly organic and “single origin” meaning it’s all from one region and not blended with other cacaos from other countries. That company is called Pacari , and its founder, Santiago, introduced me to his line of heirloom cacao one evening at a raw foods gathering at Matt Monarch’s house in the Valley of Longevity near Vilcabamba, Ecuador. There, I had the opportunity to taste 100% raw, unsweetened, full-potency heirloom cacao — and it was a superfood experience that forever changed my perception about just how powerful and even enlightening superfoods can be. Food of the Gods? You see, the best-known active ingredient in cacao is a bitter alkaloid called theobromine . The Latin prefix “theo” is of course the same root as in the word “theology,” meaning the study of God. Bromine comes from “broma” which, in the variation of “brosi” is Latin for “food.” Theobromine, then, is literally translated into “food of God” or “food of the Gods.” Why would cacao be named “food of the Gods?” If you just eat regular watered-down chocolate, you’ll probably never know. To really attain a deeper experience of cacao, you must eat the heirloom variety that’s naturally high in theobromine and other alkaloids. And once you do that, your experience may give you a greater understanding of why, over the last several thousand years, the indigenous people of South America have used superfoods like cacao to support their connection on a spiritual level. In the cultures of South American people, eating heirloom cacao is not merely an act of consuming calories. Nor is it a form of entertainment as is often pursued in first-world countries. Rather, eating heirloom cacao is a way for them to connect with the universe . It is a deeply spiritual experience, to be savored and honored, not to be wolfed down with processed sugar and ice cream. Throughout the cultures of South America, food was a way in which people were able to gain insight into the universe around them . I realize it seems odd in our modern cultures to think of food as a source of enlightenment or wisdom, but this idea was pivotal for South American cultures, and it actually makes good sense: Since we become what we eat , to eat the seed pods of a sacred plant is to become one with that plant . Certain plants alter brain chemistry and function, expanding consciousness and inviting us to explore alternate realities before returning to their physical world, blessed with the gift of new experiential insight. Such is the nature of the “sacred plant journeys” also routinely practiced by medicine healers (shamans) of South American cultures. While cacao is not a psychedelic plant, it is well known as a source of unique antioxidants and bitter alkaloids that may support healthy moods while brightening your day. Maybe this is why this superfood was called the “food of the Gods.” Straight from Ecuador: 100% organic, raw heirloom cacao Now, after five thousand years of history, YOU can experience Arribe Nacional heirloom cacao straight from the rainforests of Ecuador. Thanks to our connections in Ecuador, we were able to coordinate with Santiago to receive a large shipment of this unique heirloom cacao, straight from Ecuador. This is the real stuff: Pure heirloom cacao, truly raw (not just a false claim, but really truly raw), truly organic and harvested with the help of local farmers in a genuinely fair manner that honors their livelihoods. (The Pacari company works in many ways to help support local cacao farmers, and while it’s not yet certified as “Fair Trade,” they are working in that direction.) Right now, we have available for immediate shipment from our store: • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Beans • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Paste • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Butter • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Nibs • Raw “Arribe” Cacao Powder • A combination “chef’s pack” of Powder, Nibs, Butter and Paste (regular price is $83.80, but for this article we’ve marked it down to just $54.72, a nearly 35% savings ) Click here to see these products in the NaturalNews Store . These are all single-source, straight from Ecuador, made 100% of heirloom cacao plants, organic and raw. Just as importantly, this is perhaps the finest cacao you will ever taste in the world . It is one of life’s “bucket list” experiences to ingest this plant and tune in to how it is interacting with your body and mind. To miss out on this plant that our world has to offer is to truly miss out on one of life’s real gems. I regret to have to mention this, but not everything described as “Arribe” in the cacao world is truly Arribe. Some cacao producers will blend a small amount of Arribe into a batch of largely hybridized CCN-51 cacao, then they’ll label the final product “Arribe” cacao. That’s like calling your salad dressing “Olive Oil Dressing” when it’s really made from 90% soybean oil and only 10% olive oil. Our Arribe cacao is 100% truly Arribe with no misleading blending. Additionally, all the products have absolutely no sweeteners, no filler, no preservatives, no GMOs, no soy, no wheat… nothing! Just pure, raw heirloom cacao from Ecuador to you. As a result, don’t expect this to taste like a candy bar. It doesn’t! This is not candy. This is a potent superfood in its purest form, unadulterated and uncooked. It is the closest thing you can find to venturing into the Ecuadorian rainforest and harvesting your own wild cacao pods. This raw cacao is grown in Ecuador, harvested by Ecuadorian farmers, then processed by hand in small batches. It’s never cooked! The result is some of the finest cacao you will ever encounter on our planet. When you get some of this, consider it a treasure. I recommend not feeding it to anyone who isn’t enlightened enough to appreciate what they are consuming. Most children, in particular, are expecting sweet “junk” chocolate and will likely not appreciate “Arribe” heirloom cacao. And if you do give this as a gift to someone, please explain the history of heirloom cacao to them so they understand what a magnificent food treasure they are consuming. This is the stuff of Kings and Queens. Just a few hundred years ago, only ultra-wealthy royalty would have had access to such exotic foods. Today, we can all experience it! Pick some up here at the NaturalNews store . And enjoy this heirloom cacao. This may be some of the finest superfood you are likely to be able to source anywhere in the world.