BuyMaïa: Ceremonial Cacao Panacea or Scam? | #PSC 179
Episode 179 of PodSaveChocolate examines the health claims made about and for Maïa's “#Ceremonial Cacao.” Are they believable? Should you trust them? Why – or why not?
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Episode 179
A long-time annual TeamTCL member of TheChocolateLife sent me a link to a Facebook post from an account named Cacao Research Institute that was making all sorts of health claims about a ceremonial cacao product. I am, of course, aware of many of the claims made about and for “ceremonial” cacao, but I was curious about this one and spent some time looking into it.
Spoiler Alert: I am not going to be sharing any of the URLs associated with Cacao Research Institute (hereinafter “CRI”, BuyMaïa (hereinafter “BM”), TryMaïa hereinafter “TM”), and Grow Holdings (the parent company, hereinafter “GH”). I don’t want to give them more SEO visibility by embedding links to their pages. If you are still interested after reading this, you can search for the sites yourself.
What is “Ceremonial” Cacao?
There is no single agreed-upon definition for what constitutes ceremonial (aka ceremonial grade) cacao.
In general, the phrase refers to cacao of a premium genetic lineage (e.g., Criollo), that is minimally processed so that the chemicals in the cacao that contribute to euphoric brain states are preserved. Ceremonial grade cacao may or may not be fermented or it may be minimally fermented. Ceremonial grade cacao may be unroasted or lightly roasted before being ground into paste. There are no other ingredients added to the paste, but, when consumed (melted into hot water and, optionally frothed), flavorings or other additives may make their way into the beverage.
In many instances, added flavorings are not native to the Americas. Some think that these ingredients (whatever their supposed efficacy) inauthentic.
Ceremonial grade cacao is intended to be drunk intentionally, often as some sort of ritual. Some observers say they experience heightened brain states that can verge on religious experiences. Others consume ceremonial cacao beverages as a part of medidation rituals and expect the chemicals in the cacao are beneficial to their overall health.
The TL;DR
I am convinced that BM, and its sister site TM, are overpromising, underdelivering, and overcharging.
Recommendation: Even if you think the product tastes good, it is highly unlikely that the product delivers on the health claims made for it. (Though, YMMV.)
Deep-ish Dive
Why? The purpose of this exploration is to help you better evaluate claims like these – claims you will encounter as you traverse the interwebs.
Clue 1: The image on the left is a screenshot of the FB post I was sent. The image on the right is the About tab of the CRI profile page.
A dearth fo information can be found searching for BM and TM on Facebook.
The Profile shows no posts and no photos have been uploaded. There is not even a link to the post (posts like this are called funnels, or sometimes click funnels. Marketers can compare the incoming URLs to determine where the click came from and “funnel” visitors to specific pages). While you cannot see it here, there is an image below the fold and a link to the BM website.
Making the connection: There is no mention on the click funnel post that CRI owns BM. This is a clue that something might not be on the up-and-up.
Clue 2a – The BM Home Page. The explicit pressure to purchase that is being exerted by the countdown timer at the top of the page is a red flag. Buy “now” or you will lose access to a discount. (And we’re five weeks into the new year.)
Clue 2b – BM Home Page “Navigation.” The breadcrumb navigation path (Health > Blood Circulation > Top Natural Solution) implies there are other pages you can read. There are no other pages; those are not links.
Clue 2c – The BM Home Page: Misrepresentation of easily fact-checkable “facts.” Notice the TrustPilot ranking at the top of the BM home page. You can check that, so I did. It’s never a good thing when a site owner misrepresents their actual TrustPilot score.
The score for the sister site is even worse, though there’s no TrustPilot rating visible on the home page.
Examining (some of) the Claims
Controversial superfood proven 3X more effective than beets & supplements - adults over 50 who've discovered it are hiding their secret from their own doctors
There’s no independent footprint, no hospital or clinic bio, no board listings, no talks or publications you’d expect for someone portrayed as a long‑practicing cardiologist / “natural health expert” pioneering a new category
Harvard research shows the Ceremonial Cacao flavanols ... there is no link to the research mentioned
They called Ceremonial Cacao “the food of the gods” for its ability to strengthen the heart and regulate life force. The food of the gods (theobroma cacao) was the name given to kakaw by Europeans
The COSMOS study PROVED that the same flavanols in [our] ceremonial cacao improved cardiovascular health by 39% compared to placebo groups. In COSMOS, a standardized cocoa extract (500 mg flavanols/day, 80 mg/day epicatechin) in 21k+ older adults did not significantly reduce total cardiovascular events overall [source PubMed]
“Zero side effects” is rhetoric, not pharmacology. Any bioactive regimen (even high‑flavanol cocoa + nattokinase) has a non‑zero side‑effect and interaction profile, especially in medicated, older hypertensive patients
What’s plausible vs. what’s hype
Stripping away the emotional language:
Plausible core:
- High‑flavanol cacao can modestly improve endothelial function and may contribute to slightly better blood pressure profiles in some individuals.
- Processing can radically change flavanol content, so a genuinely high‑flavanol cacao product is materially different from Dutch‑processed cocoa or standard chocolate.
- Nattokinase can influence fibrinolytic activity and some cardiovascular markers. This is an active area of research.
Hype / overreach:
- “Fights plaque buildup” in the sense of reversing established atherosclerosis in humans has not been robustly demonstrated for this combo.
- “3x more effective than every supplement on the market” is marketing, not a comparative RCT.
- “Zero side effects” is not a credible claim for any biologically active compound.
- The way COSMOS and “Harvard” are invoked implies direct validation of this specific product, which the ad does not demonstrate.
TL;DR: As presented on this page, you’re looking at a sophisticated piece of supplement marketing, not a neutral summary of cardiovascular research.
An Even Deeper Dive
During the episode, I will be presenting more of what I learned. Again, my goal in providing this information is to help you be a more skeptical consumer of information you come across on the Internet.
Episode Hashtags and Socials
#ceremonialcacao
#cocoa #cacao #cacau
#chocolate #chocolat #craftchocolate
#PodSaveChoc #PSC
#LaVidaCocoa #TheChocolateLife
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Clay Gordon
Clay Gordon