As creative people, we are compelled to experiment and make on a daily basis whether or not we will it. But every now and then an inspired idea is so rooted in the source, that there is nothing that can stop you from working like mad to put it out into the world. After my wild adventure with cacao, just such an idea was born. It’s another long one, but it includes chocolate. I’m sure you’ll want to stick around.

After the cacao ceremony Carrie and I set out to the car, off on our adventure home. Floating a bit on love and caffeine, we didn’t notice it until we got very close. But there it was, a shiny little white envelope.

She had recieved a parking ticket. “Car must be parked at least 6 feet from unmarked crosswalk.” We stared at the numbers in disbelief. $188. Silently, we both entered the car. Shit. oh shit oh shit oh shit. Like an invitation to our own pity party, as we opened the envelope, the dirty talk started. “Well that was an expensive trip to Tucson. We could have stayed in a hotel instead! Oh, I knew we shouldn’t have parked there. There is no way I can afford this.” The intense heart opening experience of abundance we had just had, defeated by the city of Tucson. Flustered and confused by this unknowing gift, we headed out in the wrong direction. As we sat waiting to turn around, something shifted. She turned on the overhead light so I could read the ticket and see what our options were, and I had this random moment of paranoia that I lost my phone. So I went digging in my purse, what fell out was not my phone, but a flower essence spray I made last year with some dear women friends during a new moon circle. We called it Sisters of Aphrodite. It contained a flower each of us chose to represent a way to love ourselves more wholly. We combined the energy of our sisters in a loving ritual that night so we could draw upon the strength of each other in those crucial times of self-hate.

I sprayed the ticket, then Carrie and I each took some into our mouths as well. Immediately, Aphrodite shared with us her plan. “What if we raise the money by selling some things in our etsy shops?”, I proposed. Then, “No! Wait!!! We need to make cacao truffles.” We looked at each other and smiled and with gratitude thanked the city of Tucson and the goddess Aphrodite for this great gift. The drive home was filled with lively discussion on what we should call them, what herbs we would add to and how perfectly divine timing it was that this all fell just before Saint Valentine’s Day.

She came over the following day, we gathered supplies, and got to work. We spent the next eight hours, limbs and clothes covered in rich cacao mixing and blending the perfect heart healing gems. We traded the stress of the ticket, the money, the self-hate talk for an entire day of HerbCrafting. Together. Making things with our hands, improvising, sharing laughs and the care of children, high on love inspired by cacao, the rich scent of this treasured plant integrating with the herbs we could smell it on our bodies for hours after.

And so, Fountain of Love Truffles were born. Lovingly handcrafted with mindful intention towards finding the gift of love in every situation. We are offering them up at the HerbMama Shoppe on etsy to help us pay for our ticket. We made several versions of the truffle, and mixed and matched to keep it surprising. They are an intoxicating pure organic handmade chocolate with raw cacao and cocoa butter. The hints of rose and cardamom will soften your spirit as the chocolate melts in your mouth only to leave a hint of cayenne dancing on your tongue, reminding you of the chispa deep within yourself that never burns out. Sprinkled with a dash of pomegranate and hawthorne flower essences, there is nothing love cannot conquer with these treats. The truffles are vegan and dairy free. Truffles may contain: raw cacao, dates, almond meal, roses, cardamom, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, sucanat, coconut, cocoa butter, coconut oil.

In your box of Fountain of Love will be 8 handmade organic truffles laid on a cinnamon rose tea, enough for one 8 ounce cup, and a heart opening meditation. Imagine brewing yourself a cup of fragrant warming tea, lighting a candle alone or with your love, and biting into the rich taste of cacao while you journey inward to the heart and experience life from the overflowing Fountain of Love.

We hope you enjoy these truffles and that they bring you or whomever you choose to gift them to a feeling of connection. Since these treats were born out of a situation ripe with potential adversity, we would like to encourage you to consider widening the ripple effect by making lemonade in your life. What if, this Saint Valentines day, instead of (or in addition to of course;) giving chocolates to someone you love, you gifted this box of truffles to someone who may seem like a challenging person in your life right now. Someone you feel brings you adversity or gives you a hard time. What if this one act of kindness, to someone who would never be expecting it could shift the relationship between you? How far might that ripple travel? What if you took your lemons and made chocolate?

Check out a photo slide show of our little adventure at flikr. Instead of giving your money to the big box stores, support a family of community herbalists and order your limited edition Fountain of Love Truffles right away.