Tanya Krahn is celebrating 10 years as a raw food supplier for Cortes Island: what began in the Andean Mountains of Ecuador has carried on into the development of a lineup of raw cacao products under the company name “Blossoms.”

Krahn was introduced to a wild foraging, raw cacao collective, while living in a "mindful community" in Costa Rica. In Costa Rica, she learned about native cacao harvesting that was taking place in Ecuador.

“In this region, and most cacao that's in the market today, is hybrided or its in plantation, which means they take the seeds and they take them to the different regions and plant them," Krahn notes. "This is where they just showed up in the ground and then it kept the lineage of these trees for thousands of years.”

The chocolatier still sources her raw cacao product from native trees growing in the Andean Mountains of Ecuador. Her products utilize cacao as a vessel for other medicinal foods, she explains.

“There's a lot more nutrients that get soaked in because there's all the different humus that is in the rainforest soil that you don't find in plantation soil. So a lot of different enzymes and biotics and just the biodiversity of it, of the compost that is a lot for the trees. It is why these are such high nutrients of cacao. So it truly is exceptional and medicinal. Yes, very much they're all their stories," she says. Krahn goes on to explain how modern science has confirmed what Shamans have been embracing for centuries; raw cacao is a medicine with a vast range of applications. The bean has been used to help stimulate the brain and unlock cognitive awareness.

The “Love Bar” is an oversized chocolate bar available in stores on Cortes Island. Photo by S. Popkey

Blossoms chocolate translates the spiritual side of cacao as well, its owner says. 

“It tends to give that blissful or joyful feeling that we get from it, and it can heighten our awareness and open us to many different facets and aspects of love," Krahn says. "And so it was used in a lot of different spiritual ceremonies to enhance our connection to love on this planet, love of the beings on this planet, and to be able to see that this planet is actually a living being that we are a part of and I'm not just in control of, or seem to think we are.”

Blossoms is one of three names Krahn has used throughout the evolution of her raw food business. She first used the name “Sprout” and her latest development is called “Xochi.” A full display of her raw cacao products may be found on the Blossoms website.

Listen below to hear more about the journey of Blossoms Chocolate on Cortes Island in this CKTZ News Update: