Learning and sharing the benefits of the incredible cacao
Cacao Pod or fruit growing on the tree ready to be harvested.
Standing amongst the cacao trees that we source from on Victor’s farm in northern Costa Rica with our family and Uncle Stefan.
By Lindsey Glasson
Market vendor and cacao farmer
In 2020, while exploring Costa Rica, I discovered incredible cacao at a farmers market and brought 20 pounds home the day before the the borders were closed by Covid.
During the pandemic, my daily cup of cacao became a nourishing pause – a way to feel uplifted, energized and connected.
Cacao naturally contains minerals like magnesium and iron, along with flavanols that are studied for their potential to support heart health, cognitive function and mood. That nourishment and my personal experience inspired my husband Aaron and me to share cacao meditations and create wellness blends for everyday life.
Since 2020, we’ve partnered directly with farmer Victor Salazar and his third-generation family farm in northern Costa Rica. Our sun-dried, stone-ground cacao is at the heart of our company, Intica – from Cacao Oro, our 100% cacao bar sweetened only by the cacao fruit, to Root to Rise, our cacao and mushroom coffee alternative.
In 2025, we began planting our own cacao in Costa Rico while launching our own reforestation project on 60 acres in northern Costa Rica. We do that by weaving together cacao, native trees, fruit trees and medicinal plants to restore habitat.
To us, cacao for whole-being wellness means nourishing people and the earth while inviting joy, presence and connection—one morsel, one cup, one tree at a time.
A freshly picked Cacao fruit opened and ready to enjoy the sweet stick fruit pulp or mucilage that surrounds the beans or seeds. It is this fresh white pulp that we use to sweeten our 💯 whole fruit cacao Oro bars.
Aaron and the girls enjoying a fresh cacao fruit on our family farm Casa Tierra Sagrada