Cacau rapé – Huni Kuin

Cacau rapé: heart and earth at once

Strength: 4 out of 7. Character: warmth, embrace, root and heart.

Some things feel warm, but let you float. Other things ground you firmly, but feel cool. Cacau does both. Warm inside, with your feet on the ground.

Cacau rapé is made by the Huni Kuin, the largest indigenous people of the state of Acre in the Brazilian Amazon. With a strength of 4 out of 7, it is right in the middle. Gentle enough to get to know. Deep enough to keep returning to.

What is Cacau rapé?

Cacau is Portuguese for cacao. Cacau rapé is a fine plant powder made from the ash of wild cacao from the rainforest. So not chocolate from the store, but the bark of the tree itself.

The botanical name is Theobroma cacao. Theobroma means "food of the gods". That name says a lot. Everywhere people knew the cacao tree, it was given a sacred place. Among the Maya. Among the Aztecs. And among the peoples of the Amazon, where cacao comes from.

Imagine the tree. Small for a rainforest tree. Dark green leaves. And then the special thing: the flowers and fruits grow right out of the trunk. As if the tree does not hide its treasure, but shows it.

Rapé is pronounced as "ha-pé". That is why you also see the spelling hapé, and sometimes rapeh. The Huni Kuin have traditionally used rapé in ceremony and meditation.

How Cacau is made

The Huni Kuin collect the bark of wild cacao trees. They make ash from it. That ash is ground very finely. Everything is done by hand, without machines. What is added is dried and finely pounded. The sun further pulverizes it. Then everything goes through a large sieve. During the work, they sing and pray.

Rapé you see elsewhere is often coarser and grainier. Our Cacau is super fine, almost powdery. That is how you can see how much handwork is in it.

Fresh, and straight from the makers

Almost every month a new shipment arrives, in small batches. Kevin does the final check. The rapé goes directly into a dark bottle that blocks uv-light. This is how the prayers and chants remain trapped in the bottle. Open the bottle, and you immediately smell how fresh it is. Many people smell a warm, soft tone in it that reminds them of cacao.

Kevin has known the Huni Kuin for about eight years. Every day he has contact with a Huni Kuin village in Acre, via WhatsApp and video calls. The rapé comes directly from them, without intermediaries. Going to the village is at the top of his list.

The Huni Kuin are also called Kaxinawá. They themselves choose Huni Kuin, "the True People". So do we.

"They get the price they ask. I never haggle. And besides that, a part of the proceeds goes back to the village." — Kevin

How people experience Cacau

Are you someone who thinks a lot and feels difficult? Or someone who feels a lot and finds it hard to land? Many people recognize themselves in one of the two. Precisely they often choose Cacau.

What they describe is warmth. It starts in the chest and spreads out. At the same time, the body sinks. The feet become heavier. You open, but you do not float away.

Cacau is traditionally used to bring the heart and the earth together. Many people experience it as coming home. Not to a place, but to themselves. In their body, in their heart, with their feet on the ground.

How many people experience Cacau

• Warmth in the chest, peace in the body
• Being open without floating away
• Head and heart coming closer together
• A feeling of coming home to yourself

This is experience, not a promise. Everyone experiences rapé differently.

Who is Cacau rapé for?

Cacau suits many people. Its double character, warm and grounding, makes it exactly the right one for some.

You are just starting with rapé

With a strength of 4 out of 7, Cacau sits between Rosa (3) and Tsunu (5). A beautiful first introduction if you are looking for warmth as well as grounding. Start small and build up slowly.

You participate in cacao ceremonies, or you lead them

Cacau rapé as an opening of a cacao ceremony, with the same intention. Many people experience that the rapé opens the door, and the cacao goes deeper afterwards. It fits beautifully together.

You want head and heart closer together

You can think well, but feeling is difficult. Or vice versa. Many people choose Cacau to bring those two briefly into alignment.

For a real conversation

A conversation that matters. Open heart, clear head, feet on the ground. Many people notice that honest contact then goes easier.

Which rapé suits you? Take the choice guide

When do you use Cacau?

As an opening of a cacao ceremony

About 20 to 30 minutes before you drink the liquid cacao. With the same intention for both.

On a quiet Sunday

Soft light through the window. A moment with Cacau. A good breakfast. Afterwards a walk in nature. A simple ritual to take good care of yourself.

Before an important conversation

Half an hour beforehand, quiet and alone. So that you go to the table with an open heart and a clear head.

When you are floating

After an intense experience, or when your head is in the clouds. Many people use Cacau to land again, without the warmth going away.

"Cacau surprises people. They expect sweet and get depth. They expect to float and get roots. That is exactly what this rapé shows: life is not either head or heart. It is both at the same time."

— Kevin Lorenzini, Purity Healing

Using Cacau rapé

Rapé is something you work with, not something you just take. Start consciously.

• Quantity: start with as much as a pea per nostril. Build up slowly, over multiple moments.
• How: you give yourself rapé with a kuripe, a V-shaped pipe. First breathe out completely.
• Order: in tradition you start on the left (letting go) and then on the right (receiving).
• Afterwards: close your eyes, breathe through your mouth and sit still for a moment. Let what comes come.

You can read more about the technique in "Using rapé safely".

Read: Using rapé safely

Packaging and storage

• Contents: 7.7 or 15 grams of Huni Kuin rapé, handmade
• Bottle: dark glass that blocks uv-light, so the rapé stays fresh
• Storage: cool, dry and dark, out of the sun and away from damp spaces
• Shelf life: 12 to 24 months if you store it well
• Closure: always close the bottle tightly, moisture is the biggest enemy
• Origin: handmade in a Huni Kuin village in Acre, Brazil
• Shipping: packed by hand and with care by Purity Healing

Safety

• This is a traditional plant preparation for ceremonial and spiritual use. It is not a medicine.
• Not suitable if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Not suitable for unstable heart or vascular problems.
• Not suitable for persons younger than 18 years.
• Do not combine with antidepressants or MAO inhibitors. In doubt? Consult a doctor.
• Purity Healing does not sell this as a replacement for medical or psychological treatment.

Frequently asked questions about Cacau rapé

Is Cacau rapé made of real cacao?

Yes. From the ash of the bark of wild cacao, Theobroma cacao. That is the same tree chocolate comes from. But in the rapé there is no chocolate: it is ash, superfine ground.

Is it Cacau or Cacao?

Both are good. Cacau is the Portuguese word, as the Huni Kuin say it in Brazil. Cacao is the word you know in the Netherlands.

Does Cacau rapé smell like chocolate?

Not like a bar. Many people smell a warm, soft tone that reminds them of cacao. It remains a rapé from the forest, not candy.

Is Cacau suitable as a first rapé?

Yes. With a strength of 4 out of 7, it sits between Rosa and Tsunu. Start with as much as a pea per nostril. Want to choose between a few types? Four Rapéh's has Cacau, Rosa, Tsunu and Murici as a sample set.

Can I use Cacau at a cacao ceremony?

Yes, that fits beautifully. Use Cacau about 20 to 30 minutes before the liquid cacao, with the same intention. Many people experience the rapé as an opening and the cacao as deepening.

What is the difference between Cacau, Rosa and Caneleiro?

Rosa (strength 3) is softer and enveloping. Caneleiro (strength 5) brings many people more into motion. Cacau (strength 4) is in between: warm, with a firm ground underneath. Are you a bit loose after Caneleiro? Many people use Cacau then to land again.

Read and discover more

• Rapé types explained: all 15 in a row
• Buying rapé: what to look out for?
• Compare all types by strength
• What is rapé? The guide for beginners
• Using rapé safely: technique, quantity and intention
• The Huni Kuin: the True People of the Amazon
• The art of blowing
• Which rapé suits you? All 15 types side by side
• Rosa: softer, strength 3 out of 7
• Caneleiro: Tsunu with the ash of Canela de Velho
• Veia de Pajé: Cacau together with Tsunu, Xipão and Katsaral
• Research first? Four Rapéh's: Tsunu, Rosa, Cacau and Murici as a sample set
• Personal advice? Send Kevin a message

View all 15 types

Product details

With the ash of the bark of wild cacao (Theobroma cacao). Superfine ground. Handmade by the Huni Kuin in Acre, Brazil. Strength 4 out of 7.

Contents and packaging: 7.7 or 15 grams · dark glass bottle that blocks uv-light · airtight sealed · packed by hand

Important to know

All products are for adults only (18+). This product is sold as a plant specimen, for research purposes only. It is not intended for consumption.

Rapé is something you work with, not something you just take. Start mindfully.

• Start with as little as a pea per nostril. Build up gradually.
• You administer rapé to yourself with a kuripe, a V-shaped pipe. Exhale completely first.
• In tradition, you start on the left (letting go) and then the right (receiving).
• Then: close your eyes, breathe through your mouth and sit still for a moment.

• Dark glass that blocks UV light, keeping the rapé fresh
• Store in a cool, dry, and dark place
• Lasts 12 to 24 months if stored properly
• Always close the bottle tightly; moisture is its greatest enemy
• Hand-packed with care

• This is a traditional herbal preparation for ceremonial and spiritual use. It is not a medicine.
• Not suitable if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
• Not suitable for unstable heart or vascular conditions.
• Not suitable for persons under 18 years of age.
• Do not combine with antidepressants or MAO inhibitors. If in doubt, consult a doctor.