DEEP FROM THE AMAZON RAINFOREST: INTRODUCING A NEW CACAO ORIGIN
Deep in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, Indigenous Awajún families steward a wild strain cacao unlike any I’ve ever tasted.
This Amazon Rainforest ceremonial cacao is opulent, velvety, rich, and deeply nourishing - a completely different expression from the bright, floral cacao of Piura where WANA HEY began.
I loved this cacao so much that I chose to take the long, strenuous journey to meet the people who steward it and the land it comes from.
That journey led me deep into the Peruvian Amazon rainforest... one of the wildest, most alive places on earth.
Today, this origin is at the heart of three WANA HEY offerings: our 100% Amazon Rainforest Ceremonial Cacao, ROSE - Amazon Rainforest Origin Ceremonial Cacao, and WOMB Ceremonial Cacao.
The Journey In
I was lucky to visit the Awajún community who steward this cacao, and taste the fruit fresh off the tree during harvest season.
This is not a place you casually arrive at.
To get there, I took 3 flights, spent 10 hours on the road, and hiked 8 hours into the jungle.
It was hot, physical, and at times uncomfortable.
Mama cacao has held me through some of the darkest nights of my life, and to be with her here — in the place where she grows — felt like one of the greatest blessings I’ve experienced.
This cacao is a completely different experience, and I’m so excited to introduce it to you.
Follow the Journey
If you want to see how this cacao was sourced — from the 8-hour hike into the jungle to meeting the Awajún community — I documented the entire journey here:
Watch the Amazon Jungle Series on YouTube or on Instagram.
From Deep in the Amazon Rainforest
This cacao comes from the Amazonas region of Peru, where Indigenous Awajún families cultivate cacao within a living, biodiverse forest.
For the Awajún people, the land is a living relative. Cacao is cultivated in relationship with the forest, supporting both community livelihood and the protection of ancestral territory.
What Remoteness Really Means
There are no roads leading to this cacao.
Every pod is harvested by hand in rhythm with the land, and once the cacao beans have been fermented and dried, they are carried out of the forest — by people — over hours of walking.
That level of care and effort is part of what makes this cacao so special.
A New Origin for WANA HEY
WANA HEY’s original cacao comes from Piura, Peru — a coastal desert region known for its floral, vibrant, bright fruity notes.
This Amazon cacao is different — deeper, velvety, and even more grounding.
Both are beautiful — they just offer completely different expressions of cacao.
It Started With 100% Cacao
When I first introduced this origin to WANA HEY, I wanted you to experience the cacao in its purest form first.
So we started with 100% Amazon Rainforest ceremonial cacao — nothing added, just cacao as it is.
It comes in our signature rose-shaped pieces and has become one of my favorite cacaos I’ve ever tasted: deep, rich, velvety, and incredibly smooth.
But I always knew this origin would become more.
The WANA HEY Amazon Rainforest Ceremonial Cacao Collection
The collection has now expanded into three distinct expressions of this extraordinary Amazon Rainforest cacao:
100% Amazon Rainforest Ceremonial Cacao
Pure wild strain, single-origin cacao with absolutely nothing added. Deep, rich, velvety, and grounding. This is cacao in its purest expression, with plenty of room to add your own spices, sweetness, rose, or whatever your body is calling for.
ROSE — Amazon Rainforest Origin
Our signature ROSE recipe made with Amazon Rainforest cacao, rose, lucuma, a touch of coconut sugar, and sea salt.
While the original ROSE — Piura Origin is bright, fruity, and floral, the Amazon Rainforest expression is deeper, richer, more rounded, and opulent.
Same ROSE recipe. Completely different expression of cacao.
WOMB — Amazon Rainforest Origin
Created in collaboration with renowned acupuncturist and herbalist Dr. Jill Blakeway, WOMB pairs Amazon Rainforest cacao with Ashoka, goji berry, orange peel, and rose.
Rich, grounding, and deeply nourishing, WOMB was created in reverence for the changing rhythms of creation, release, rest, and renewal.
Choose Your Amazon Rainforest Cacao
The WANA HEY Amazon Rainforest origin now lives in three distinct offerings — pure 100% cacao, ROSE, and WOMB.
ROSE — Amazon Rainforest Origin and WOMB are both available as 1 lb bags of our signature cacao roses and 50 g Spiral Bars.
The cacao roses make it easy to prepare a cup one piece at a time, whether cacao is part of your daily rhythm or something you reach for in more intentional moments.
The Spiral Bars contain the same recipes in a smaller form — made for tasting, traveling, gifting, eating as ceremonial chocolate, or melting into a cup.
Our 100% Amazon Rainforest ceremonial cacao is available as a 1 lb bag of cacao roses.
Not sure where to begin? The Spiral Bar Collection includes ROSE — Piura Origin, ROSE — Amazon Rainforest Origin, and WOMB, making it an easy way to experience three different expressions of WANA HEY before choosing a full 1 lb offering.
Go Deeper Into the Amazon Rainforest Origin
Every Amazon Rainforest offering begins with the same wild strain cacao grown by Indigenous Awajún families in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.
For a deeper experience of ROSE and WOMB, the Amazon ROSE + WOMB Ceremonial Cacao Collection includes a 1 lb bag + 50 g Spiral Bar of each formula.
And after walking through the jungle to meet this cacao where it grows, sharing these offerings with you feels especially full circle.
When you drink WANA HEY, you enter a living exchange — with the rainforest and the hands that make this offering possible. Thank you for your co-creation.
