Hey everyone - Craig here! This article is about ADHD and how cacao might just be a supertool as well as a superfood in supporting people living with ADHD/ ADHD-like symptoms. 

I was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult 2 years ago. After decades of emotional dysregulation, burnouts, waves of depressions and not knowing what the hell was going on it came as a complete shock and a relief. So much suddenly made sense, the impulsivity, the intensity and the cycle of stimulation and sedation, caffeine and alcohol which I now understand to have be unconscious attempts to cope with the inner turmoil I had been experiencing my whole life on a daily basis.

For anyone living with ADHD, navigating focus, emotional regulation, and energy levels can feel like a daily juggling act and to be honest–a bit of a battle. While medication and therapy are important tools (I’ve tried them both), there’s a growing interest in natural ways to manage the difficulties of ADHD— and I'm here to say that ceremonial-grade cacao needs to become part of that conversation.

But why?

Because, quite unexpectedly, cacao became one of the most supportive tools in my own journey.

When I first started drinking ceremonial cacao on a daily basis, it wasn’t with any kind of expectation. Amy and I had just arrived in Guatemala, where cacao is used not only as food, but as medicine. I was drawn to it for emotional reasons more than anything—I didn’t even realise at the time that it was helping me focus (and this was before I had been diagnosed with ADHD). But over time, I began to notice some pretty significant shifts. Mornings became calmer. My energy felt more steady. I was getting things done. My thoughts had more space between them. And when I forgot to drink it? The difference was noticeable.

So what’s actually going on?

In this article, I’m going to explore how ceremonial cacao might support people with ADHD and ADHD-like traits—especially when it comes to motivation, mood, emotional regulation, and that classic ADHD struggle: doing the things we know we need to do.

We’ll also look at the role of caffeine and coffee in the ADHD cycle, the importance of magnesium, and the science behind why cacao might just be the heart-opening, brain-supporting ally you've been searching for.

Let’s get into it.

If you’re anything like me and have ADHD yourself, I’ll be amazed if you’ve make it to the end of this article without being whizzed away by some thought or distraction. But if you do make it to the end leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.

 

1. The Role of Dopamine

If you’ve ever looked into ADHD, you’ll have come across the word dopamine pretty quickly. It’s the brain chemical that plays a big role in motivation, attention, emotional regulation, and the ability to follow through on tasks—all the things that can feel especially challenging when you have ADHD.

In simple terms, dopamine is part of your brain’s reward system. It gives you that little hit of satisfaction when you complete something or experience pleasure. But in people with ADHD, dopamine levels are often dysregulated—which means it can be harder to feel motivated, stay focused, or keep momentum going without needing constant stimulation or external pressure.

For me, learning about this was a game-changer. It explained the emotional rollercoasters, the craving for stimulation (cue: caffeine), and the never-ending chase for something that just feels good—even if it’s short-lived.

This is where cacao comes in.

Ceremonial-grade cacao is rich in compounds that gently support the body’s own production and regulation of dopamine. It contains phenylethylamine (PEA) — often called the “love molecule” — which helps promote focus and alertness, and anandamide, a feel-good neurotransmitter sometimes referred to as the “bliss molecule.” Unlike the sharp jolt of caffeine, cacao’s effect on the brain is more subtle and sustained, gently nourishing the nervous system rather than spiking and crashing it.

For people with ADHD, that gentleness matters, even when you feel the pull towards intensity.

 

2. Motivation

One of the most frustrating parts of living with ADHD—at least for me—is knowing what I want to do (you should see my to-do lists), and even why it matters, but still feeling unable to start. It’s not laziness, it’s not a lack of desire — it’s a breakdown in the dopamine-driven motivation loop. And sometimes (all the time) this feels completely frustrating.

This is where cacao became an unlikely ally.

I started drinking ceremonial cacao before I even knew about its effects on dopamine. I just knew it made me feel… better. Clearer. More grounded and able. It turns out that cacao’s blend of active compounds, including theobromine, PEA, and anandamide, work together to gently activate the nervous system and support focus—but without the harshness or anxiety that often comes with caffeine.

What makes this even more powerful for ADHD brains is that cacao doesn’t just give you a jolt and drop you later. It brings you into a state of calm alertness—the kind of state where starting a task doesn’t feel so daunting, and continuing doesn’t feel so impossible. There’s a kind of flow that’s easier to access.

And when you're able to start? Motivation builds. That’s the magic of momentum and it is real—and for many people with ADHD, cacao can help us get there.

 

3. Mood

For a lot of people with ADHD, emotional ups and downs aren’t just occasional—they’re constant. One minute you’re energised and inspired, the next you’re in a slump or stuck in a spiral. This kind of rapid mood cycling is exhausting, and often misunderstood. I have damaged a lot of relationships and abandoned countless projects to ‘the graveyard of dreams’ before I really started to understand this aspect of myself.

What I’ve found—and what science supports—is that ceremonial cacao offers a genuinely mood-stabilising effect. It’s not about feeling “high” or overly stimulated. It’s more like the volume knob on the emotional noise gets turned down, and what’s left is warmth, groundedness, and presence.

That’s partly thanks to cacao’s impact on neurotransmitters like serotonin and anandamide, sometimes called the “bliss molecule.” These compounds play a crucial role in regulating mood and emotional wellbeing—something that’s often disrupted in people with ADHD.

The presence of magnesium also helps calm the nervous system and reduce feelings of anxiety or overwhelm, giving your system the chance to actually reset, rather than pinging back and forth between extremes.

For me, drinking cacao didn’t eliminate the intensity of feeling—and I wouldn’t want it to. It just made the intensity feel more manageable.

 

4. Emotional Regulation

One of the things that hit me hardest after being diagnosed with ADHD was realising how much of my life had been shaped by emotional dysregulation. I used to think I was just “too sensitive” or “bad at handling stress”—things i’d been told by people over and over again to be fair. 

Turns out, my nervous system was wired differently—and it had been working overtime without the right support.

Emotional regulation is a core challenge for people living with ADHD. It’s not just about big reactions; it’s about feeling everything, all at once, and not always knowing how to respond rather than impulsively reacting to everything.

Ceremonial cacao has genuinely changed that for me.

Cacao contains compounds like PEA (phenylethylamine) and theobromine, which support the release of mood-stabilising neurotransmitters and increase blood flow to the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex — the part responsible for impulse control and executive function. This physiological boost makes it easier to pause, to breathe, and to choose your response instead of reacting on autopilot.

Beyond the science, there’s something about the ritual of drinking cacao that creates a sense of emotional safety. The warmth, the intention, the quiet moment before the day begins—it helps me get back into my body, regulate my breath, and reconnect with myself before stepping into the noise of the world.

For ADHD brains that often feel like they’re running 10 tabs open at once with music playing from somewhere—this daily pause is everything.

 

5. Avoiding the Peak-Crash Cycle

One of the most frustrating parts of living with ADHD is the constant swing between hyperfocus and burnout— the peak-crash cycle. For a long time, I tried to manage this using caffeine. And for a while, it worked—until it didn’t.

Coffee gave me the jolt I needed to get going, but it also made me anxious, scattered, and tense. It pushed me into hyper-productivity mode, but left me crashing hard a few hours later, needing sugar, more coffee or alcohol to regulate. Sound familiar?

Cacao works differently.

Thanks to its naturally occurring theobromine, ceremonial cacao offers a much gentler, longer-lasting lift in energy. Theobromine is a vasodilator, meaning it increases blood flow (especially to the brain and heart), but without overstimulating the central nervous system the way caffeine does.

The result?
A steady state of calm focus—not the jittery buzz of coffee, not the sudden crash. Just a clear, energised feeling that supports concentration without frying your nervous system.

For me, swapping coffee for cacao was a turning point. I stopped ricocheting between overdrive and exhaustion. My mornings became more stable. My nervous system, less frazzled. And over time, my energy felt more mine, not borrowed from a chemical surge.

 

6. The Problem with Caffeine

For many people ADHD, caffeine is the go-to tool. It’s fast, it’s legal and it’s everywhere—and lets be honest - it feels f*cking great! At least at first.

But here’s the problem: caffeine stimulates the nervous system in a way that often mimics and magnifies the symptoms we’re already trying to manage. Jitteriness, anxiety, irritability, sleep disruption—these are all familiar side effects of too much coffee, and for neurodivergent brains, the impact can be even more intense.

On top of that, caffeine spikes dopamine fast—then drops it just as quickly. For an ADHD brain already struggling with dopamine regulation, this can trigger a rollercoaster of motivation, focus, and mood throughout the day. And when the crash hits? Cue the cravings, the fatigue, the brain fog and the frustration that follows and creates even more emotional dysregulation!

Ceremonial cacao, on the other hand, offers a different rhythm.

• No harsh spike. No hard crash.
  

• A smoother, longer-lasting stimulation thanks to theobromine, which is gentler and non-addictive.
  

• Plus, it’s paired with magnesium, tryptophan, PEA, and anandamide — all compounds that naturally support mood, calm, and focus.
  
  It’s not just about avoiding the downsides of caffeine. It’s about giving your brain something better. Your brain is you at the end of the day!
  
  

Living with ADHD isn’t easy—but finding the right tools can make all the difference. For me, cacao became an unexpected ally. Not a fix-all, but a daily support that helps with focus, mood, and emotional steadiness — without the crash of coffee or the chaos of overstimulation.

If any of this resonates, you’re not alone. Whether you’ve got a diagnosis or just feel the pull of a restless mind, ceremonial cacao might offer something gentle, grounding, and real.

👉 Explore our cacao bundles to get started.
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With love,
Craig (and Amy)
Alma Cacao