Herbal Cacao Part 2: The Heart-Centered Ritual: Cacao as Daily Meditation
- Jillian Randel
- Dec 15, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: Dec 29, 2025
with Persian Love Hot Cacao Recipe
This drink makes me feel like I am feeding my soul! –Paige
Making hot cacao drinks is a meditative ritual for me. Much like brewing tea, each step requires attention, care, and love. This practice demands that you slow down, drop the digital, and firmly root yourself in the present moment as you make your medicine. My daily tea ritual is perhaps the most consistent, reliable part of my day. During the colder months, hot cacao anchors this routine, offering a vital surge of warmth, both emotionally and physically.
In a traditional cacao ceremony, a hot beverage is consumed, often with intention setting, a more formal meditation, and connection with others. Because cacao is physiologically beneficial for the heart, many modern cacao ceremonies are paired with heart opening meditations, backbending (heart-focused) movement, or heart-centered breathwork.
For me, it remains a simple, daily routine. It signifies a break from the screen—a moment to sit and reflect. It is a warm cup of healing and warmth in my hands on cold winter days, fueling my gratitude for the blessings in my life. This practice can take the form that works best for you. Maybe you drink yours while writing in a journal, sitting by a window, or while enjoying the company of family, friends, or your children.
Just as with tea, hot cacao is a medicine that I consume with conscious gratitude. Below is one of my favorite recipes for hot cacao. I developed it after spending a summer making and perfecting a persian love cake (usually made as a vanilla cake). The addition of rose makes this recipe extra heart opening, and the cardamom simply tastes delicious!
Before or after you read the recipe, take a moment to peruse the more in-depth benefits of cacao, cardamom, and rose mentioned toward the end of the post. You will find that this drink, ceremonial or not, has so much to offer as a healing remedy.
Persian Love Hot Cacao
Ingredients
makes one cup of joy
½ cup of oat milk + ½ cup of water
(you can substitute any type of animal or nut milk, with or without combining it with water as long as you end up with 1 cup of liquid)
1 tbsp raw cacao powder
1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey
½ tsp cardamom pods or powder
½ tsp rose petals powdered, plus extra petals for garnish
optional: whipped cream
optional: pistachio crumble and rose petals to garnish
Directions
If you bought cardamom pods, blend them in a nutribullet or other blender, sift them, and set aside. Blend the roses separately. I do this in case there is extra powder so I can use it for something else. The larger chunks that get sifted out can be used in tea or other recipes. Some folks are particular about using a mortar and pestle to grind spices, but the rose petals will be a challenge if you take that route.
Heat the oat milk and water combination (or whatever you chose) in a pan.
Add the cacao, maple syrup, cardamom, and rose. Use an immersion blender to blend and froth your mixture.
Serve with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pistachio.
Option: Make your own whipped cream and infuse it with vanilla extract and cardamom.
Why I Love This Combination of Spices and Herbs
Rose and cardamom are two of my favorite flavors. There is nothing more comforting than the smell of fresh ground cardamom wafting through the house. All three main ingredients - cardamom, cacao, and rose petals act as anti-inflammatories and the addition of oat milk brings in a variety of nutrients. This blend is a warming, restorative mixture.
Properties (Key Actions) of the Supporting Herbs and Spices
Cacao has a bitter, sour, and at times, floral taste. The flavor alone helps to stimulate the digestive system. Like other darkly colored fruits and vegetables, cacao offers strong support for the cardiovascular system. As a heart-protective tonic, the antioxidants in cacao help protect DNA and reduce oxidative stress. Cacao is known to improve blood flow, and reduce the risk of blood clots (de la Forêt 260). Cacao also helps improve cognitive functioning and improves mood. The caffeine content supports energy and endurance (and is also a reason to avoid drinking pure cacao too late in the day).
Cardamom has a sweet and pungent taste, with warming, aromatic, and drying qualities. It provides wintertime support as an antibacterial, decongestant, expectorant, diaphoretic (induces sweating), and circulatory stimulant properties. It can be used to address nausea, as a diuretic, and has strong antioxidant properties.
Rose petals are cooling and warming with strong aromatic properties. They are used for their astringent properties both topically and internally to tighten and tone tissue and, for this, are widely used as a reproductive tonic. They offer analgesic (pain relieving), anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and vulnerary (wound healing) properties. Perhaps the most important aspect of rose medicine is the intoxicating smell and beautiful appearance of the petals.
I strongly favor using part oat milk in this recipe and want to mention that oat milk is rich in a variety of nutrients and phytochemicals (Yu et al.). It is also one of the easiest non-dairy milks to make on your own!
Mild Suggestion: Roses are heavily sprayed; be sure to harvest, wildcraft, or purchase only rose products if they are organic. Look for heirloom or wild roses. Multiflora rose grows wild in the Northeast (and other areas of the country-check your region) and is considered invasive, making it the perfect species to harvest without concern for depleting the species (Neves 298).
Contraindications Section
Cacao is overly stimulating for many and can aggravate anxious folks or those with trouble sleeping. Those sensitive to caffeine or overstimulation should consume with caution. High doses of cacao are not recommended for children under the age of 18, or elders who have trouble sleeping.
Ethical Sourcing: A Note on Intention
The production and processing of cacao is a dirty business. Much of the world’s cacao is farmed in western parts of Africa where child labor laws are lax and wages are as low as 80 cents/day. In other areas of the world where cacao is farmed (Central and South America and across Southeast Asia) large swaths of land, often tropical rainforests, are cleared in order to keep up with the demand for cacao. Deforestation causes huge losses in biodiversity. To lessen the impact of the production of the cacao bean on human rights and the environment, look for brands that are FairTrade and Rainforest Alliance certified. These efforts make a huge impact on the industry, as the push for sustainable chocolate motivates chocolate producers to pressure growers for ethically and environmentally favorable certified cacao beans that also emphasize fair human rights practices (Harper).
Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These recipes, methods, and resulting products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease and are for educational purposes only. The Undercover Witch LLC recommends that you consult with a qualified healthcare practitioner before using herbal products, particularly if you are pregnant, nursing, or on any medications.
References
de la Forêt, Rosalee. Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients Into Foods and Remedies That Heal. Hay House, 2017.
Harper, Davis. “The Dark Side of the Chocolate Industry.” Sierra, Sierra Club, 15 October 2017, https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/green-life/dark-side-chocolate-industry. Accessed 17 November 2025.
Neves, Liz. Northeast Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 111 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness. Timber Press, 2020.
Yu, Yonghui, et al. “Oat milk analogue versus traditional milk: Comprehensive evaluation of scientific evidence for processing techniques and health effects.” PubMed Central, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10534225/. Accessed 17 November 2025.
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