A Forthcoming Northeast Portland Cafe Wants to Show Off the Nuance of Ceremonial Cacao | Eater Portland

"Opening June 5 at 2601 NE Martin Luther King Blvd, Soul Lift Cacao will occupy the former Goldrush Coffee Bar space and focus on traditional ceremonial cacao drink preparations alongside drinking chocolates, smoothies, and “cacao teas” made from nibs. Owner Nick Meador, who found respite in ceremonial cacao after years of chronic fatigue, sources cacao exclusively from Guatemala and emphasizes ethical collaboration with producers—working closely with the Ruk’u’x Ulew collective and the Cruz family, getting their approval on label language, hosting virtual ceremonies led by Nana Marina Cruz, and paying producers 10 to 15 times the fair-trade rate. The menu will showcase five varieties of pure cacao to highlight subtle flavor and energizing theobromine effects, offer infused drinking chocolates (with herbs, spices, and coconut sugar), be entirely gluten- and dairy-free (using oat milk), include coffees from Cafe Zamora, and aim to center the cafe experience around the premise of ceremony even for customers not participating in a formal ritual." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden