What is it?

Theobroma cacao, also called the cacao tree, is a small evergreen tree native to the Americas. It was highly valued by the earliest South American cultures and has a rich history of human use througout the ages.

Cocoa beans are produced in tropical zones around the Equator, where climate conditions are well suited for growing cocoa trees. About 70 percent of the world’s cocoa beans come from four West African countries: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.

While Cocoa is often heavily processed and used in the chocolate production process, we use unprocessed cocoa extract straight from the cocoa seed, this ensures that we maintain as much of the beneficial flavanols as possible.

The benefits

Cocoa is at the forefront of ongoing research investigating its benefits on the human brain. Certain compounds found within cocoa, known as flavanols demonstrate immense promise for supporting healthy brain function.

Emerging research is demonstrating that flavanols in cocoa support healthy blood flow to the brain and cognitive performance in young, healthy adults and that these benefits are apparent even after a single dose.

Research concluded in December 2020, discovered that regular consumption of cocoa flavanols improves mental agility. Participants in the study were able to complete complex tasks more efficiently and experienced improved levels of blood oxygenation in the frontal cortex, a brain region that plays a key role in planning, regulating behaviour and decision making.

Subsequent studies have found that cocoa flavanols can triple the maximal oxygenation of the brain.