Essential Oil of the Month: Cocoa CO2 (Chocolate!)
COCOA CO2: (Theobroma cacao)
“Chocolate is a divine, celestial drink, the sweat of the stars, the vital seed, divine nectar, the drink of the gods, panacea and universal medicine.” – Geronimo Piperni quoted by Antonio Lavedán, Spanish army surgeon, 1796
Mmmm…delicious, sumptuous chocolate. Yum! We love to eat chocolate, but did you know it can be good for your skin and its extract can be used in a lavish spa treatment? Yes, Cocoa CO2 extract (the quintessential chocolate scent) is rich in antioxidants and full of nourishing and hydrating fatty acids to soften your skin while you luxuriate in the glorious scent. Its sweet, rich, sensual aroma will indulge all of your pleasure senses.
Different from consuming conventional chocolate, using Cocoa CO2 extract in your spa treatment offers the nourishing benefits of chocolate for your skin and spirit without the downside of sugar or dairy.
Cocoa CO2 extract is obtained from the Cacao Tree, Theobroma cacao. The scientific genus name for Cocoa, Theobroma, translates to “Food of the Gods.” The ancient Mayans believed that cacao, aka cocoa, was a key ingredient in restoring balance and connection to the Divine.
The tree is a small to mid-size tropical evergreen tree with large, beautiful glossy leaves and belongs to the Malvaceae plant family. It produces pod-shaped fruits with colorful red, orange and yellow hard exterior shells that protect the numerous cacao beans that are housed inside. These flavorful beans are rich in nutritive fatty acids, minerals, polyphenols and Vitamin E.
These beans are used to produce a variety of raw materials including cocoa extract, cocoa butter, cocoa liqueur, cocoa powder and, of course, chocolate.
Our premium quality Cocoa CO2 Select Extract is 100% natural. Differing from traditional steam distillation for essential oil extraction, when a CO2 extract is made, botanicals are placed in a chamber and the extract is obtained by pressurized supercritical carbon dioxide as the solvent. The intense pressure caused by CO2 encourages the botanicals to release their full aromatic contents. The resulting extract is an exceedingly pure and unadulterated constituent. Once the CO2 gas is released from the resulting component, what is left is the complete botanical extract. The CO2 supercritical extraction process exposes the extract to less heat during production than traditional steam distillation. By eliminating the heating element used in traditional essential oil or absolutes processes we are left with a more whole, shelf-stable product without the remaining solvents.
Spiritual and Emotional Benefits:
Deliciously rich, intensely sweet with an indulgent chocolatey aroma, Cocoa CO2 Select Extract offers benefits to skin, hair, mind and spirit.
Uplifting emotionally, physically and spiritually, Cocoa CO2 Extract promotes feelings of love, compassion, and emotional harmony, cultivating a sense of inner peace. At the heart of cocoa’s spiritual power lies its remarkable ability to enhance mood and vibrational frequencies.
Chakras (Energy Centers of the Body):
Heart Chakra - Heart-Opening Properties: Cacao is often associated with opening the heart chakra, which can help people experience a greater sense of love, self-love, empathy, and compassion, and can allow you to hear your inner spiritual wisdom.
Third Eye Chakra - intuition, higher consciousness and inner vision: Cacao can open the third eye to help us access our own inner spiritual vision to “see” more clearly, helping us to make better decisions.
History of Cacao
Humans have used the fruit and seeds of the Cacao for thousands of years. The earliest recorded archeological evidence of its use dates back to 2,000 BCE in Honduras. Early evidence of Cacao use comes from pottery found in Ecuador that contains traces of theobromine, a chemical compound found in Cacao, suggesting it was used in a drink.
Ancient Maya and Aztecs revered Cacao for its life-empowering properties, considering it sacred. As stated earlier, they referred to it as “Food of the Gods.” Even Aztec emperors purportedly used it as an aphrodisiac to kindle romantic moods.
By the late 1500s the merits of Cacao spread across Europe, spurring its demand and the formation of many Cacao plantations in Africa, a continent with the proper conditions for growing the trees. Even today, Africa contributes the most to our global Cacao trade.
Dutch Processing, which involved treating beans with alkaline salts to make a chocolate that was mixable in water, was created in 1828, resulting in Dutch cocoa. The cocoa press was then invented, which separated cacao butter from roasted beans to make cocoa powder. Both of these inventions made chocolate affordable for everyone and initiated mass production of Cacao.
In 1847, the very first chocolate bar was made from a paste of cocoa liquor, cacao butter, and sugar. Dried milk powder was added to this bar in 1876 to create our much-loved milk chocolate.
Is your mouth watering yet? Go ahead - Why not avoid the guilt and calories of edible chocolate and indulge your body and soul with the Cocoa CO2 extract in our luxurious, delectable Chocolate Bliss Butter. Your skin and spirit will thank you.
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PRECAUTIONS: Not for use during pregnancy or when breastfeeding. For external use only. Do a patch test 24 hours prior to first use to test for sensitivities and always use diluted at the correct ratio. Not suitable for use on children.
