SOMA CACAO
ABOUT US
We’re Rose and Alistair. We met by chance on a beach in the South of Mexico, only to discover that our parents live a few hundred metres apart in Sydney. We fell in love, and for a few happy years we lived together on that Mexican beach.
Cacao is a rich part of Mexican culture, and it became a centre point in our lives. Every day we brewed a pot of cacao with cinnamon and sugar, and drank it together on the beach. We bought cacao paste from local markets, ate toasted cacao beans, and visited cacao farms nearby.
We moved back to Australia at the start of covid, and settled in Far North Queensland. For six months we scoured the market, looking for a cacao we liked. But we never found one that tasted as good as the cacao in Mexico.
At the same time, we discovered that Australia’s most decorated cacao farm was ten minutes up the road from our house. We drove there one day, and asked if we could buy raw cacao. The farmer told us his minimum order was 40kg, so we scrambled to find friends to buy from us at wholesale. And Soma Cacao was born.
Soma grew through word of mouth, local markets, and finally online. We now source cacao from the Daintree region, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, The Solomon Islands, Ecuador and Peru.
But to us Soma will always be a passion project. We love introducing people to real cacao. We love researching its health and well-being benefits. We love knowing that our support of small farmers makes the cacao industry fairer and more sustainable. Above all, we love trying dozens of cacaos from all around the world, looking for the ones that are good enough to share with you.
WHAT WE CARE ABOUT
We care about cacao, our values, and yours.
-
We work closely with our growers to ensure sustainable, respectful farming practices, and we’re continually refining how we minimise our environmental footprint.
Our packaging choices are made with care: our mailing bags are compostable and plant-based, our sticky tape is bio-based and made from renewable materials that break down with zero toxicity, and we protect your cacao using hex wrap, a fully compostable and recyclable alternative to bubble wrap.
Where possible, we source certified organic cacao. Some of our origins carry official organic certification, including our Peruvian Ceremonial Cacao and our Australian-grown Daintree Ceremonial Cacao. Other farms grow their cacao using organic and traditional methods but choose not to pursue certification due to the significant cost, bureaucracy, and ongoing administrative burden, which can be especially challenging for small, family-run farms. Rather than forcing certification, we prioritise direct relationships, transparency, and an intimate understanding of how each cacao is actually grown.
-
We work through direct trade relationships. This means we have a personal, transparent connection with the farmers and cooperatives who grow and harvest our cacao, without relying on traditional commodity supply chains or layers of middle-men. We work directly with family-run farms and small collectives in Australia, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, where cacao is grown as a livelihood rather than an industrial output.
Our margins are intentionally tight because we pay stable, premium prices that sit well above commodity market and Fair Trade rates. These prices are agreed in advance and protected from market volatility, giving growers greater financial security and supporting long-term, sustainable farming practices.
Because our cacao is produced in small batches, volumes are limited, which is why single-origin cacao is typically only viable for small, quality-focused businesses like Soma Cacao. Direct trade allows for simpler, more accountable supply chains and deeper, mutually dependent relationships built on trust, ethics and care.
Much of the ceremonial cacao available in Australia is sourced through long, opaque supply chains that aggregate beans from thousands of farms. For us, being able to trace our cacao all the way back to the farm or cooperative is essential. That traceability is what allows us to stand behind the quality, integrity and ethics of every batch we share.
-
As interest in cacao has grown, so too has the body of scientific research exploring its chemistry and effects on the body. We take this research seriously. Before making any claims or decisions, we spend time reviewing the available evidence and separating meaningful science from marketing noise.
Our approach is guided by a respect for both tradition and modern research. On our Benefits of Cacao page, we share an overview of what the science currently suggests, along with a full reference list so you can explore the sources yourself. We also have a number of Health Articles for your perusal.
-
Quality, for us, begins at the source. We work with cacao that is genetically distinct, carefully fermented, and grown in regions with the soil, climate and cultural knowledge needed to produce exceptional flavour and chemistry. Each origin we offer is selected through extensive taste testing and long-term relationships with growers, rather than a drive for uniformity or scale.
Our cacao comes from farms and cooperatives producing heirloom and fine-flavour varieties, often in very small volumes. This includes heirloom Nacional hybrids from the Ecuadorian Amazon, indigenous- and community-led supply chains in Peru and the Solomon Islands, rare Australian-grown organic cacao from the Daintree, and cacao cultivated in mineral-rich volcanic soils in Papua New Guinea and Mexico. Several of our origins are recognised for their naturally low caffeine profiles, high theobromine content, or gentle, nervous-system-friendly qualities, making them suitable for different bodies, rituals and times of day.
Some of our cacaos have received external recognition through regional and international programs, and others are valued for qualities that awards don’t always capture: exceptional digestibility, unique flavour expressions, rarity, or the social and environmental care embedded in how they are grown.
Rather than chasing consistency or mass appeal, we honour the individuality of each origin. Batch variation is a natural part of working with real cacao, and something we see as a marker of integrity rather than a flaw. Quality, for us, is about flavour, feeling, traceability and trust, not just accolades.
-
We invite you to choose your Soma Cacao based on what matters most to you, whether that’s flavour, feeling, origin, or values. Each cacao we offer comes from a distinct landscape, cultural context and way of working with the land.
If supporting local agriculture and minimising food miles feels important, our Australian-grown Daintree cacao is a rare and meaningful choice. If you’re drawn to traditional ceremonial cacao and the preservation of heirloom varieties, our Mexican cacao offers depth, history and bold character. Our Ecuadorian cacao comes from fine-flavour Nacional hybrid strains grown by smallholder Amazonian farmers, valued for their smooth, nourishing profile. Peru offers an indigenous-led, certified organic supply chain, producing cacao that is vibrant, energetic and well suited to movement and creative work.
If you feel called to island-grown cacao, our Karkar Island and Solomon Islands origins are cultivated in mineral-rich volcanic soils and shaped by community-led, small-scale farming, known for their grounding and nervous-system-friendly qualities.
And if you’re curious rather than certain, our Starter Packs are designed to help you explore. Let your palate, your body, or your intuition lead the way.
OUR PRODUCTS
