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Not Your Mum's Hot Cocoa
Theobroma cacao (25x extract)
Citation:   thomasthewalkinghead. "Not Your Mum's Hot Cocoa: An Experience with Theobroma cacao (25x extract) (exp77720)". Erowid.org. Apr 2, 2012. erowid.org/exp/77720

 
DOSE:
1 tsp oral Chocolate (extract)
BODY WEIGHT: 9 kg
I had been looking for a morning stimulant with an edge that coffee couldn't provide. Ampetamines and cocaine were too strong, yerba mate too weak and coca tea being too unobtainable, I picked up on some hype running through the various substance-related forums on the web and ordered some 'Theobroma Cacao 25X Extract' from an online source.

It seemed that there was a lot of debate over the active principle(s) of this extract, in spite of chocolate being possibly the most widely eaten 'drug' on the planet, it also seems to be the most widely debated. Caffeine was an obvious ingredient, but theophylline, theobromine and other exotic and unlikely molecules like anandamide were all posited as potential benefits of this product, which was claimed to be a full-spectrum extract of the innocent cacao bean.

I had read that this bitter, brown powder is unpalatable (as normal cocoa usually is), so I decided to cap a generously heaped teaspoon of the flour-like substance and wash it down with water.

Within about half an hour, I noticed the stimulating effects of about 5 espressos, with a noticeable tenseness not present in simple caffeine. There was also a euphoria which came in waves of increasing intensity - nothing like the gurning joy of MDMA or the bliss of opiates, but a pleasant, expansive lifting of mood like walking barefoot onto a patio on a sunny morning.

Standing up from my desk (I am a freelance typist and I like to start early) at about 8am, two hours after eating the capsules, I felt a feeling of dizziness and floatiness in the head (a 'head rush') which was followed by a blurring of the vision that lingered several minutes rather unpleasantly. This was my only unexpected physical symptom.

The euphoria gradually waned as the day progressed, over about 6 hours, and my alertness waned to normal levels as the afternoon went on. That evening I had a few instances of increased anxiety which I cannot attribute to anything other than the cacao - but this is normal stuff for a caffeine and nicotine junkie.

It's certainly a useful substance, and mixed with ground coffee in an espresso machine the taste is unnoticeable. While I can't say for sure that it is much different from a heavy dose of caffeine, it doesn't have the same unpleasant digestive effects as drinking a lot of coffee.

Exp Year: 2008ExpID: 77720
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Apr 2, 2012Views: 52,566
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Chocolate (182) : Alone (16), General (1)

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