Amazon Herb Company’s Chocamaca goes a big step further in rejoining chocolate with traditional herbs and grains from its original bioregion, then molding them into small spheres reminiscent of Tibetan herb balls. Through nutritional analysis, we are learning and naming over 300 chemical compounds at play in cacao. We are exploring their psychochemical effects on us – our central nervous systems, our bodies, minds and moods.

What is it about chocolate that would make some 50% of women reportedly claim to prefer chocolate to sex? Yes, most chocolate contains some sugar. But chocolate clearly delivers far more than a brief sugar high. Remove the refined white sugar and we move closer to the bitter herb of its origins.

What is it we love so much in chocolate? Could it be chocolate’s tryptophan, the essential amino acid that enhances serotonin function, hence diminishing anxiety? Theobromine may be the Aztecs’ agent against mental stupor. Or perhaps chocolate’s key to our hearts is its phenylethylamine (PEA) content. Phenylethylamine, commonly called the “love molecule,” is a natural chemical suspected of causing the euphoria experienced by lovers. PEA’s presence in wild blue green algae, another ingredient in Chocamaca, may explain the increased energy, enhanced mental clarity and pervasive upbeat optimism experienced by algae-eaters.