Hey there! I’m Drea, the owner and founder of the Chocapothecary

and a certified holistic Integrative Nutrition health coach. I started making chocolate in 2010 as a way to feed myself healthy sweets and to share with my family and friends. In 2014, I moved from Munich, Germany to Los Angeles, CA. My passion project turned business and I have been sharing functional chocolates at several Los Angeles Farmers Markets and shops since 2017.

My Story

Health, wellness and natural remedies have played a big role throughout my life.

In my mom’s pantry and kitchen we had everything we needed to stay happy and healthy, never visiting a doctor’s office (except for when I needed stitches on my knee). Using food as medicine, we made our own natural remedies for colds, flus, nausea, skin conditions, tummy aches, period pains, etc., you name it. We also loved using homeopathic medicines, teas, tinctures, salves, etc. …, there’s so many good things out there, can’t mention all of them, but I hope to be bringing you them one at a time.

Healthy sweets, besides fruits, were rarly existent in my childhood years and I did struggle a lot with finding my balance between my cravings and my ideals when it came to food, in my teenage years. Dieting, calorie counting, over exercising, frustration and rejecting my body were part of my daily routine. All that magically changed once I started a vegan diet and introduced raw chocolate as my main sweet treat.

Why I love raw cacao?

Because it boosts my mood, literally gets me high, gets me going, allows me to satisfy all my cravings,

and because it is such a wonderful delivery system for herbs/superfoods/adaptogens. Making chocolate makes me feel like an alchemist. And I, as well as my assistant Oompa-Loompas, put lots of love into the chocolate and tell it how beautiful it is. I believe food does take on the energy of the maker and therefore I hope that my chocolate medicine not only delights your taste buds but also sparks something within you to light your path and give you inspiration and the knowing of being loved.

Chocapothecary

A functional apothecary full of delicious chocolate. Pick your medicine.

Functional chocolate medicine for improved health and well-being.*

ADAPTOGENS are herbs which help the body adapt to stress and go where it is needed in the body.*
I infuse my CHOCOLATE MEDICINE with generous amounts of adaptogens.
BENEFITS which we, our family, friends & customers experience: increased energy, reduced stress, reduced anxiety, improved sleep, calm nerves, improved cognitive function, memory and focus, less brain fog, period returned, reduced cramps, regulated moon cycle duration, reduced pms, better skin, reduced hot flashes. …
It’s our mission to give you healing sweets and food as medicine.*

Un-roasted, cold-pressed Peruvian Criollo Cacao

Raw chocolate: Serotonin Boost, brain oxygen boost, aphrodisiac, antioxidant. …

The cacao I source is

cold-pressed,
fermented,
made from un-roasted cacao beans.
Free of alkali or other processing agents.
Cacao in its natural form.

Chocolate decorating with funcitonal ashwagandha “peanut-free” cashew-pecan butter.

We make each chocolate by hand

in Los Angeles with the finest Peruvian Criollo Cacao & LOVE.

Our cacao has a unique taste, is minimally processed fermented, never roasted and only cold-pressed.

Functional chcocolate medicine: with adaptogenic mushrooms, herbs and superfoods.

Chocolate, medicine for the heart, brain and body.

I love so many herbs/superfoods/adaptogens, but the six I use most are:

Reishi mushroom (fruiting body extract),
Lion’s Mane mushroom (fruiting body extract),
Turkey Tail Mushroom (mycelium grown on fermented brown rice),
Maca (whole root),
Ashwagandha (whole root),
Shatavari (whole root), and of course
raw Cacao itself!

Raw Cacao

Contains the love chemical PEA and the bliss chemical anandamide

which make you feel love and bliss when you eat it. Cacao is a medicine, and should be consumed consciously. I personally love cacao, because I don’t drink coffee. Cacao contains no caffeine, but a sister molecule to it called theobromine. Cacao’s botanical name is “theobroma cacao” which translates to food of the gods!

Raw cacao gives me energy but I don’t crash from it as hard as I would from coffee.

If I wanted to I could go party on it if I ate several pieces of chocolate medicine butter cups in one sitting.
While I don’t recommend doing this regularly, but I do that from time to time, I find it is convenient to eat a few of those when I’m on the go and I didn't have the chance to make myself breakfast.

Benefits of raw chocolate as a medicine:

Cacao contains 40 times the antioxidants of blueberries! The antioxidants in organic raw cacao have an amazing ORAC score which measures the ability of antioxidants to absorb free radicals (environmental toxins, pollution, stress), which helps prevent cell and tissue damage, aging, and disease.
Cacao is an aphrodisiac.*
Cacao helps increase cerebral blood flow and therefore allows more oxygen to reach the brain.*
Cacao may aid weight loss as it naturally regulates our appetite.*
The theobromine in cacao can act as a natural cough medicine.*
Cacao is also high in iron, magnesium and calcium (more than milk).

Reishi

has been used for thousands of years in eastern medicine and is called the mushroom of immortality.*
It is an adaptogen and helps the body manage stress.*
I personally love reishi for it’s calming, stress-reducing and anti-anxiety effects. It helps me sleep better and deeper. It makes me feel relaxed and good in my body and gives me a warm fuzzy, cozy feel.*
Reishi mushroom also can boost the immune system as it affects white blood cells and has anti-inflammatory properties.*
Reishi is an adaptogen which helps the body manage stress.*

Lion’s Mane

Studies have shown it helps the brain release NFGs (nerve growth factors) and can support nerve healing, while boosting cognitive and brain function, focus, and memory.*
Lion’s mane works the most obvious for me in moments that require a brain boost.
As an introvert, it helps me personally to shift my mindset and adapt mentally to help me function better in social settings, at times.
Lion’s mane is beloved (especially by many of my customers) for it’s highly anti-inflammatory effects.*
Lion’s mane is an adaptogen and helps the body manage stress.*

Maca Root

Maca root is a superfood, the Peruvian ginseng, an adaptogenic herb.
Known as a libido booster and food of the warriors.
Maca, commonly referred to as “natures prozac”, can help boost mood, energy and has been used to balance hormones.
It is said to have the ability to heal stomach ulcers, can help increase fertility and endurance, promote reproductive health and improve physical and mental strength.*

Maca is said to work as an anti-depressant, just as raw cacao.*
Maca is an adaptogen which helps the body manage stress.*

Ashwagandha

Traditionally used in Ayurvedic Medicine for thousands of years to relieve stress, increase energy levels, and improve concentration.*
Also known as the Indian ginseng.*
Strength giving.*
Supports VO2 MAX and therefore boosts athletic performance.
Helps regulate the ratio between Testosterone and Cortisol thus helps build muscle.
Ashwagandha is an adaptogen which helps the body manage stress.*

Besides the fact that I infuse herbals into my chocolate, it is unlike any other.

My customers love it for it’s creaminess, richness, depth in flavor,

the way it melts on the tongue, and it just has this incredibly delicious, yet pure and clean taste. I hand-tempered the chocolate crystals, which is very uncommon practice, and it creates this smooth texture and heavenly mouth feel.

My chocolate is dark, and rich, yet never bitter, which is due to my special recipe and because I use the best Peruvian Criollo Cacao, which is not only the most rare but also the most expensive cacao bean variety. My cacao is raw, meaning the cacao beans ferment, and do not get roasted and therefore have this mild, buttery delicious taste.

FAQ

What makes our product different?

Sugar free! No refined sugar, no high, no crashing. Stable mood. Stable energy. Happy you!

What does raw mean?

Commonly in chocolate cacao beans are roasted. Ours only ferment and are cold-pressed. Un-roasted, raw. More nutrient dense. Milder flavor.

Where is our cacao from?

We use" Criollo Cacao” (which is the rarest and most expensive cacao bean, king of cacao beans) from Peru. Organic, small family farms, fair wages.

What’s our sweetener?

We use single origin Maple syrup from a family owned farm in Pennsylvania. Low glycemic. No spike in blood sugar as opposed to refined white sugar. Refined white sugar is more addictive than cocaine, as studies have shown.

Is everything organic?

Yes, all ingredients we source are one ingredient certified organic foods.

Does it contain caffeine?

No. Cacao contains a sister molecule to caffeine called theobromine. Gives you energy. Similar to coffee, but more gentle and no crashing.

Heavy metal?

Our cacao distributer is a quality focused company and they test samples from all of their cacao lots at an accredited laboratory using plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). This method accurately tests for the levels of naturally occurring heavy metals present in cacao that includes lead and cadmium. Email us to request the results.

FUNCTIONAL CHOCOLATE MEDICINE

EST. 2017.

LOS ANGELES