This morning I woke up from a bizarre dream that I couldn’t remember. I rushed to prepare everything I needed for my cacao talk today. As I was getting ready to leave I remembered that I had to plant something since I was spending the night over on the Kona side. I grabbed a plant from the nursery that I got from Adam and planted it next to the pohinahina. I wasn’t really sure what it was.
I texted Adam about it and turns out it was a Calea ternifolia aka the dream herb. It’s originally from Mexico and Central America used as a folk medicine for a variety of ailments but mostly used to induce lucid dreaming. Experiments have shown that the dream herb does produce strange EEG readings but the cause is unknown. You can steep the leaves into a bitter tasting tea or you can smoke it for enhanced dreaming. There are studies done on calea that show that this herb will increase tranquility and the feeling of wellbeing and it could reduce anxiety and depression. However, some studies are showing that the herb might cause some side effects to the liver or kidneys.
The talk today went really well a bunch of people showed up and we did it outdoors. Never in my wildest dreams I would have thought I’d be giving a cacao presentation with the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers Assocation. What an honor! Ken from Primavera Chocolates and chocolate maker Eldon Neufield showed up too which made me pretty nervous but I survived.
Tomorrow I’ll be giving a chocolate making demonstration to the Hawaii Master Food Preservers graduates to show them the entire chocolate making process from bean to bar!
Originally posted on 2021-10-28, part of the daily planting journal behind Ha’a Chocolate’s food forest on Hawai’i Island.