Episode 127: The Power of Ceremonial Cacao: Creativity, Connection & Plant Medicine with Laura Huaman
Podcast
Episode 127: The Power of Ceremonial Cacao: Creativity, Connection & Plant Medicine with Laura Huaman
“Ceremonial cacao isn’t just a drink, it’s an invitation to reconnect with yourself.” — Laura Huaman
This episode is your invitation to explore creativity through connection, ancestry, and ritual. I’m joined by Laura Huaman, former Stanford scientist, Peruvian native, and founder of Kuyu. She’s on a mission to bring health, happiness, and connection through cacao and Peruvian superfoods.
Laura shares the pivotal moment of her first cacao ceremony in Austria. That experience didn’t just change her relationship with cacao, it changed the trajectory of her life. What began as a search for clarity in a tech career became a journey back to her roots, her culture, and the jungles of Peru.
Laura shares the story of Señor Efraín, a cacao farmer in Quillabamba, whose relationship to cacao is deeply personal. His words “cacao means love”became a guiding force in Laura’s brand. Through packaging, sourcing, and storytelling, Laura aims to transmit that love from Pachamama to your cup.
Whether you’re building a brand, reconnecting to your ancestry, or seeking more presence in your daily life, this episode reminds you that creativity thrives when you honor both science and spirit. For Laura that means a cup of cacao is more than a nourishing drink, it’s a reconnection to her purpose.
Questions to Reflect On:
Sit with these questions: Journal, take them on a walk, create a voice note, chat with a friend, or sit with a cup of tea and reflect on them. Leave a comment below or connect with us on Instagram @chefcarlacontreras & @yourkuyu to share your takeaway from the episode.
What rituals in my daily life help me feel grounded and connected?
What traditions from my family or culture bring me a sense of belonging?
When I feel overwhelmed, what simple practice brings me back to center?
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or on your favorite podcast platform while you cook, clean, or create. Get the full show notes & transcript below.
xo Carla
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Laura Huaman
Laura is a Stanford-trained scientist, health innovator, and founder of KUYU, a Peruvian superfood company rooted in both science and ancestral wisdom. Born in Peru and educated in Human Biology at Stanford, Laura has spent her career exploring one core question: How can people live longer, healthier lives?
Her work has taken her from research labs at Stanford to global health initiatives with the World Health Organization, where she focused on nutrition, longevity, and maternal health across communities in Peru, Tanzania, and California.
Laura’s path shifted after a powerful cacao ceremony that reconnected her with the healing traditions of her heritage. Inspired by the science and spirit of ceremonial cacao, she created KUYU Cacao Superfood Blend to support mood, focus, and calm, sustained energy.
KUYU brings together modern science, regenerative agriculture, and the ancient wisdom of the Andes and Amazon to help people reconnect with nature, ritual, and their own well-being. For Laura, cacao is more than a beverage. It is a daily ritual, a moment to reconnect with nature, creativity, and purpose.
Find + Work With Laura Huaman
Carla (00:01):
Welcome to Nourishing Creativity. The cycle of the last few years has left you and me feeling mentally, physically, emotionally and creatively drained. Nourish your very full life through interviews with creatives and entrepreneurs about how they create and move through their creative blocks. If you don't know me, I'm Chef Carla Contreras, a food stylist and content strategist. You can find me Chef Carla Contreras across all social media platforms and more information in today's show notes. Laura, welcome to the podcast. I am so grateful to have you here. Can you share who you are and how you serve your community?
Laura (00:50):
Hi friends. My name is Laura. I'm your cacao queen, former Stanford scientist, and my mission is to bring greater health, happiness, and connection via the power of cacao and Peruvian superfoods. And I'm doing this today by building this beautiful, meaningful brand called Cu.
Carla (01:12):
What was the last experience that sparked your creativity?
Laura (01:17):
Well, you know, Carla, this is not the last one, but this is a very meaningful one for me. And it's actually related to how I discovered cacao. So backtrack a couple or a few years ago, and I was in my tech job in London and I was looking for clarity. I was looking for clarity, what I needed to do with my life. I was going through a lot of transitions at this time. All of a sudden, I signed up just very serendipitously to a spiritual retreat in upper Austria. Fast forward a few months later, and you can just imagine this is beautiful lush greenery and beautiful tall trees and just so much peace. And it was in this retreat that I experienced my first cacao ceremony. And who would have thought it was Peruvian cacao? I'm from Peru. And this moment for me was so magical because I felt first like this warmth, like the moment that I had this taste of this rich, earthy cacao, not sweet sweet like you think of a hot chocolate, but like earthy and just so nourishing.
(02:23)
I literally felt this warmth in my body, in my heart. I felt happiness and joy and a greater connection. And I feel like a lot of ... You come into the ceremony with an intention and for me, my intention was greater clarity with my life. And I just had this explosion of emotions. At the same time, it was very grounding and it was very healing. And so when you say creativity and that recent experience, when I had to design the branding of Kuil, I wanted to show that. I literally wanted to come across the feeling of cacao, which is like this burst of emotion and powerful and raw, emanating light from your heart. And if you could see it, I mean, hopefully you guys will be able to see it pretty soon, but you have a woman in the packaging and then you have this beating heart.
(03:16)
And for me, I just want everyone to know that this beating heart and this light is coming from within you. And like that is, it's my mission, is to help people connect to themselves, to nature, to those around them and to always remember that they have this light that is emanating from within them, that it's connecting them to themselves and to nature and to the pachamama.
Carla (03:40):
Gorgeous. And this is rooted in ancient culture and also science.
Laura (03:46):
A hundred percent. I incorporated cacao into my everyday and then I started noticing the difference that it was doing for me. I slowly started replacing all of my second, third cups of coffee that were making me so jittery and so anxious with cacao, which was this like calming more gentle energy. But more than that, Carla, it was just so much joy. Literally just get happy. And then I became so obsessed. So obviously like I researched it and I said, oh my God, this catal from Peru and oh my gosh. For centuries, my ancestors, the Incas and also the Mayans and people in Central America had been using cacao to connect with deities in ceremony. And that's why we call it to this day, the food of the gods. And it's so beautiful because then you dive into the science and you realize, oh my God, of course it elevates your spirit because it has a molecule coffee of bro mine that will literally like dilate your blood vessels so you have greater blood circulation and you have more blood in your brain and like has magnesium that it's more relaxing and you have all these precursors to serotonin.
(04:54)
And then the meat, you go running after 30 minutes and you feel like super happy, it's literally because of this molecule anatomy. And cacao, I believe is the only food product that has this molecule of anatomy. This is why you get so happy. For me, like diving into the world of cacao, I mean, if you had talked to me three years ago, I was in my tech job, I would have not thought that I was becoming cacao clean. So that's taken me into a beautiful journey, literally a rediscovery. And this is a journey that I also want to help people connect with and whatever that means to whoever is listening, rediscovery of yourself, rediscovery of those around you, whatever you need to rescue. But for me, it was a journey back home because learning about cacao physically took me to the jungles of my country.
(05:40)
I hadn't lived in Peru since I was 13 years old and it was in this desire to explore and learn more about cacao that I went traveling all over Peru to find the finest, most premium, metal free, just more sacred cacao in the world that I can tell you also more about. But it was literally, it's been a journey of self-discovery.
Carla (06:03):
How do you define creativity when it comes to your work?
Laura (06:07):
For me, creativity is literally these moments of connection and these moments of inspiration. I think creativity comes whenever I'm able to bridge these two worlds of what feels good in my body, what my body needs, and then also bridging it with the science. And just to give you a little bit of an example, this is one of the reasons that I started my own brand too, is that many of these mushroom coffees or other replacements will give you cacao, okay? But it's not the right amounts, for example. Your body, you actually need at least, if you're talking about cacao powder, you need at least 5.5 grams of cacao. If you have another ingredient that I have in my super food blend that I'll tell you more about is maca. Okay. Oh, but then we're talking about maca. But hey, did you know that there's also gelatinized maca which makes sure that your body absorbs it better and then how much do you need of that and et cetera, et cetera.
(07:10)
So for me, creativity is mixing what science, like the scientific part of my brain with also nature, what comes from nature and the whole foods. And then how do we package this so that everything that we discuss and that we've learned from our ancestors can be applied and applicable to our daily lives in America, New York, in Europe, in Miami, in Texas. So it's the bridging of all of these worlds.
Carla (07:37):
What is your current relationship with creativity?
Laura (07:40):
My current relationship with creativity is how do I create meaningful and beautiful experiences for people that are enjoying my product, for people that are consuming this? How can I create these moments? And maybe I don't know if this is a good time to tell you or tell everyone a little bit of, just educate on what is the difference between normal cacao, regular cacao, what makes cow extra special and what is the difference between these cacaos? Cacao, as a plant medicine, it's healing because it has all these beautiful properties that I already mentioned, like the theobromine, it's high in magnesium, has an endomety has precursors to serotonin to dopamine. There's a lot of research that even shows that it can promote stem cell regeneration. It helps with cardiovascular health. I actually was so interesting when I first started ku and I was bringing my ceremonial cacao out to the world, I noticed that someone just kept buying so many kilos and in like a month he bought like almost $700 worth of cacao.
(08:45)
I'm like, "This is great, but like how are you drinking too much cow?" And he tells me, "Oh, well it's obviously delicious, but also since I've been having your cacao, I went to the doctor and my blood pressure has lowered." And so now I drink it every single day. I have one big cup and then I give it to my friends in the office too, spreading the cacao love. And I'm like, "Well, yes, literally there's so much science that says that cacao help with cardiovascular health." So I tell you some of these benefits to really highlight how important it is to have really good quality cacao. What does that mean? That means that first, at a basic level, you need to make sure that it's minimally processed and that it's not Dutch. So if you go outside and you know, buy a Hershey bar or buy any other type of chocolate, first of all, that is one extreme.
(09:37)
It's an extreme because it is highly processed. It's made with a lot of heat, which denatures the proteins, which natures, the enzymes, natures, a lot of these good nutrients that you want to have in your cacao, but it also added sugars and milk and preservatives and all of these things. So that is one extreme, but then you also have ... I'm friends with some of these brands, like this is great, they're powder, just to give you an example, like powder or cacaos, but you still need to look at how it is processed. So the cacao that I'm bringing to the world, for example, it's co-pressed, not Dutch. So that means that it's super minimally processed. It just has enough heat to make it into cacao powder. And so what that means is that it retains all of these amazing nutrients that we have discussed and we have brought up that makes it literally like a medicine to your body.
(10:32)
And also that means that it has a higher concentration of flavonos and a higher concentration of philbromide. And something that I also wanted to bring up is that I also offer a ceremonial cacao, which is a very special one, chun choco from Peru. There's nine genotypes of cacao in the world. Peru has three that you cannot find anywhere else. And one of these very unique ones is a chuncho and it only grows outside of cusco. Literally to find micacau, you need to fly to Cusco and then be on a bus journey for eight hours to go into the middle of nowhere in the jungle with literally like no internet. And then you're going to meet beautiful people like Ephraim who grows this cacao with so much love and it only grows two months and years. It's super extra special. But I'm telling you all this story because why is it special?
(11:21)
Not only the profile, the flavor is very unique and naturally sweet, but also has a higher concentration of the phyobromine molecule. And so if we were to talk about like ceremonies and whatnot, like this is extra heart opening and this is extra spiritual and special. So those are like some key things. When you're looking at a cow, hey, do you want to make sure that it's minimally processed, that it's not Dutched. Also there's a lot to say about the cacao and just your food in general, about being grown with intention and with care. Our cacao, we work directly with the farmers and not only do we are these cacaos like single origin, single bean, but they're made with a lot of care and love and my farmers practice regenerative agriculture. So that means that we're also paying tribute and making sure that the land and the soil where these foods are grown are renourished and they will continue growing.
(12:20)
So it's something also to say about, especially if you look at foods as a spiritually, it has a greater charge and greater energy and all of that. And then if you can add other things like, you know, if you care about heavy metals, you know, our cacao is always tested for heavy metals. We make sure we exceed the most strict standards by the EU when it comes to cadmium, lead, no mold. So something that I'm trying to do with Cuyu is really build that brand of trust so that you know you're always getting the absolute, absolute best.
Carla (12:55):
Can you tell us about your creative process? And I really want to put in parentheses here, nourishing your creativity. What was it like to go out and find people, find farmers, find the cacao, taste the cacao?
Laura (13:12):
For me, I find I'm the most creative when I connect with nature and when I move my body, whether I'm just like here, you know, going for a walk around the park or I am going on a hike or I'm swimming. As long as my body's moving and I'm in nature, for me it's a bit of like a reset and it also helps my creativity. So when you taking it next level is literally going on this journey in nature in the most breathtaking scenery that I have ever in my life experienced in Peru. I want to tell you about someone who literally has changed the way that I feel and relate about cacao and that is Mr. Efrain. When I went to Kiabam in Peru, I went, you know, oh my God, I want to look for my chunchacao. But little did I know that to get to these beautiful chunk chicao and Mr. Efrain that has won awards for his cacao was literally, as I mentioned in this little town called Kia Bamba and to get there, you need to travel by boat, by bus for more than eight hours.
(14:16)
In the last one hour, you have again, no internet connection and then I find this man and he's just so sweet and so humble and he's kind of short like I am. And he tells me as I walk in and says, "Welcome to Kia Bamba." And he says, "35 years ago I came with nothing, just me and my wife and we discovered this cacao, this chunch of cacao, we tasted it and it was like nothing else." And we said, "Wow, one day we're going to have a farm and we're going to grow our own chunch cacao and that was this dream that they had in their heart 35 years ago, he tells me. " And then we go on his car and he takes us to his farm so we can start seeing this. And he says, 35 years later, Laura, we have eight hectares of these cacao farms.
(15:07)
We grow the most premium chin chicao and all my entire family, my entire family is in the cacao business and it all started with this dream. And then as we're walking and he's showing me, he's showing me the cacao trees and he's pruning as we walk with so much care, he's like, "Oh no, there is this here, let me clean this. " I ask him, "Sanya Frain, what does cacao mean to you? What does it mean to you? " And he says, "Laura, for me, cacao means love." And I ask him, "Why love?" And he says, "You see that tree over there?" And yeah, that tree is a tree that my wife and I planted four years ago, right? That was the last tree we planted before she died. That tree, I always drank cow, but I started drinking cacao from that tree and it helped my heart heal.
(16:03)
I would drink it every day, my cacao, just one cup of cacao and he said in Spanish. And I just felt like that. I just felt more peace. And for me, that cacao reminds me of my wife, but it also means love to me. And what I love about his story too is that his motto is always with cacao, with love from us to you. And that's literally the love that I want to transmit to everyone is that love to you and that the love is within us. And so it's really finding that cacao and like meeting farmers like this that tell you their story and like their relationship to the land that makes this work so meaningful and so special. And it's hard to like put a price to this experience and to this product because it's literally not a product, it's medicine and it's like special, it's a very special plant, but as you can imagine, we want to be fair and we want to be just and we want to support the people that are growing it so that they can continue producing this with love that is eventually going to get back to our tables and nourish us and nourish our ecosystem and the environment.
Carla (17:20):
Can you tell us about creative blocks?
Laura (17:23):
Oh my goodness. Can I just say the blocks and the challenges? Sometimes it gets exhausting because right now it's a one person show. So one time I have to be running spreadsheets, I need to be negotiating with my manufacturer or this and that, and then I have to become a legal expert and well that's ChatGPT becoming a legal expert. And you know, just having to wear all of these hats so this task switching can be a little exhausting. But Carla, I swear, literally these two things like when I'm feeling overwhelmed, I go for a walk, I try to move my body and seriously if I'm feeling a little down, I just move everything aside. I go for a walk, I move my body and then I get home, I make a big, big hearty cup of cow and I just center and I just give gratitude and it's literally takes me back to the rainforest, to Kia amba, to Mr. Afraian.
(18:22)
And seriously, this is my mission. This is what I hope like if you, when you get a cup of cui cacao that you feel like you're seriously transported to the rainforest or whatever it is, rainforest to you, whatever makes you come alive and whatever it is, your highest self and it's reminding yourself of who your highest self, who you really are. So in those moments for me, I just take a moment to pause to say reset, to remind myself why I'm doing this, connect with nature and just drink a big cup of cacao.
Carla (18:59):
Laura, how can we find you? How can we work with you? How can we support you?
Laura (19:04):
Oh my goodness. So everyone, I just want you to feel this joy and if your heart calls for it, try pull you super food blend. We have Pacha Mama with all the light emanating from her heart. You want to literally just stare at this packaging because it's so beautiful and make it part of your ritual. Start your ku ritual, bring extra joy and happiness to your days and you can find us on Instagram and on our website, which is your kuyu.com. Your is Y-O-U-R, and then Kuyu is K-U-Y-U. And before I go, I need to tell you, you know what cu means in Perugi and Kechua? Happy water.
Carla (19:43):
Thanks so much for tuning in to Nourishing Creativity. You can find me chef Carla Contreras across all social media platforms and more information in today's show notes. While you have your phone out, please leave a review on iTunes or Spotify. This is how others find this show. I really appreciate your support, sending you and yours so much love.