Women of Cacao
From the Amazon to chocolate ateliers, from ancient myth to modern science — Women of Cacao brings you into conversation with the people, plants, and stories shaping the future of chocolate. Hosted by chocolate-cacao due, storyteller Ava J. Holmes and sommelier Fiorella Richter, this podcast is born from the annual Women of Cacao Summit — a global gathering of farmers, scientists, wisdom keepers, and chocolate makers reimagining our relationship with cacao. Each episode features highlights and full-length talks from past summits, alongside new interviews and reflections that bridge culture, ecology, spirituality, and innovation. You’ll hear from voices across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and beyond — women who work with cacao as food, medicine, art, and social movement. Whether you’re a chocolate professional, wellness practitioner, or simply someone curious about the deeper story behind your favorite food, Women of Cacao invites you to slow down, sip consciously, and reconnect with the wisdom of this ancient plant and modern phenomenon of chocolate. ✨ Themes include: Cacao genetics, fermentation, and fine flavor Feminine leadership and community economics Indigenous cosmologies and sacred rituals Sustainability, climate resilience, and decolonizing chocolate The sensory, artistic, and emotional alchemy of cacao 🍫 Produced by Women of Cacao, this podcast is both a celebration and a call — to elevate the voices that make the world of cacao and chocolate, to protect its origins, and to rediscover the beauty that connects us all.
Episodes
In this episode of Women of Cacao, we hear from Raven Hanna, scientist, author of One Cacao Tree, and micro–cacao grower on Hawaiʻi Island. Tending around 50 trees in a food-forest system, Raven shares her experience fermenting and processing cacao on the smallest scale—challenging the idea that “real” chocolate requires industrial volumes.
Drawing from her research on homegrown cacao traditions in Belize, Mexico, the Philippines, ...
This episode of Women of Cacao features Lilla Toth—Hungarian chocolate educator, international chocolate judge, and tea–cacao pairing expert based in Vienna. As a member of the grand jury of the International Chocolate Awards and a trainer with the IICCT (International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting), Lilla pulls back the curtain on how the world’s best craft chocolates are actually judged.
Leila walks listeners through t...
In this episode of Women of Cacao, Ecuador-based founder of Aukey Cognitive Chocolates, Natalia shares the neuroscience of cacao and how chocolate interacts with the brain. Drawing on research in gamma brainwaves, dopamine and reward pathways, multisensory integration, and the endocannabinoid system, Natalia explains how visual cues, aroma, texture, sound, and context shape not only flavor perception, but also mood, memory, and con...
In this episode, we travel to the high mountains of Talamanca, Costa Rica, with holistic therapist and Bribri–Cabécar healer India Mayorga to explore the cosmovision of cacao as a living spirit, not a commodity. India shares an ancestral origin story of cacao—Siru—as told through her matriarchal lineage, explaining how cacao is woven into Bribri cosmology, law, and ceremony, and why her community speaks of having “cacao blood.” She...
Conversations from the Women of Cacao Summit—uniting the many voices shaping the future of cacao and chocolate. Join our global community, register for the next FREE live summit, and explore monthly gatherings at womenofcacao.com.
Welcome to the Women of Cacao Podcast, Season 1, sharing highlights from the Women of Cacao Summit 2025.
In this opening ceremony of the Women of Cacao Summit 2025, hosts Ava J and Fiorella welcome listeners into a four-day journey that bridges cacao and chocolate, ancient cosmologies and cutting-edge research. Broadcasting from Cusco, Peru, Fiorella shares the scope of this year’s gathering: more than 40 women speakers, 32 workshops and panels, 23 cacao origins, 7 native languages, and 25 partner organizations working across the caca...
This episode opens Season One of the Women of Cacao Podcast and highlights a selection of standout sessions from the 2025 Women of Cacao Summit. RSVP for next year’s free live event or join our ongoing community gatherings at WomenofCacao.com.
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