TCM Basics 101: Supermarket Herbs - Cacao
TCM Nature: Warming
TCM Taste: Bitter, Slight Pungent
TCM Meridian Affinity: Heart, Liver, Kidney
Benefits:
· Tonifies the Heart
· Warms Kidney Yang
· Clears Coldness
· Warms the chest
· Moves Blood
· Sedative
· Aphrodisiac
Spirituality:
Cacao has been cultivated by many cultures for over three thousand years in Mesoamerica. The earliest evidence of its use is traced back to the Mokaya people of Mexico and Guatemala.
The Maya believed that cacao was discovered by the gods in a mountain that also contained other food delicacies. In April the ancient Maya celebrated an annual festival to honor their cacao god, Ek Chuah. They also used cacao to fight fevers, aid digestion, uplift the spirit and increase stamina.