About Your Class
Theobroma cacao, known for millennia as cacaw to the Mayans, and as xocolatl (or chocolatl) in the Nahuatl language of central Mexico, is experiencing a modern resurgence. Long honored by indigenous wisdom for its ability to lift the Spirit and gently energize the body, cacao is now being recognized by modern science for its benefits to metabolic and cardiovascular health, among other things. In this workshop we’ll discuss the profound medicine that cacao offers through the lens of science alongside traditional energetics and flavor, and ways we can incorporate cacao into our personal lives as well as our practices as herbalists.
Participants are encouraged to have on hand some high quality, organic cacao powder and will be sent some ideas for a simple preparation they can make to enjoy at home as part of the class.
Please note that this will be a class and a discussion of cacao, and we will not be engaging in cacao ceremony. We will honor and respect the fact that cacao is sacred medicine to Mesoamerican peoples and their descendants, and engage in discussion of sourcing and usage with awareness and recognition of the pitfalls of cultural appropriation.
*This is a live Zoom class and the recording will be made available afterwards.
Meet Your Instructor
Core Faculty
Richard Mandelbaum
RH is a clinical herbalist with a private practice in Brooklyn and in Sullivan County, NY. Richard has been practicing as an herbalist since 1997, with a background in both Chinese and Western herbal traditions. He is currently on the faculty at David Winston’s Center for Herbal Studies in Washington, NJ and has been a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild (AHG) since 2003, and joined the AHG Council in October 2012. He is co-founder and core faculty of ArborVitae.