Chocolate & Decadence: Cacao Mythology with Marcos Patchett LIVE

Please note this is NOT a ZOOM Lecture but an in person lecture. Tickets include a complimentary glass of Devil's Botany Chocolate Absinthe.

Doors open at 6:30pm and talk starts at 7pm

Chocolate & Decadence: Cacao, Society & Sophistication with Marcos Patchett

The processed seeds of Theobroma cacao and their contemporary by-product, chocolate, have been associated with luxury, pleasure and status for thousands of years. But indigenous Mesoamerican lore and the transition of Cacao to the global stage reveals another side to this prized plant, with more ambiguous associations. In this talk, medical herbalist and author Marcos Patchett explores the societal ramifications of the history, mythology, and pharmacology of the totemic Cacao tree and its bountiful bean.

Marcos Patchett has practised as a medical herbalist for twenty years, initially specialising in complementary care for people living with HIV, and practicing from Neal’s Yard Remedies’ Therapy Rooms in London. He worked as a dispenser in Middlesex University’s training clinic for their Western Herbal Medicine BSc in 2009-2010, later as a clinical supervisor for the Western Herbal medicine BSc and MSc courses at Middlesex from 2013-18, for Westminster University in 2021-22, and for Heartwood online in 2020-23. Marcos is also a student of Renaissance and classical astrology. His first book, The Secret Life of Chocolate (thesecretlifeofchocolate.com), was released in 2020, and the smaller “paperback edit”, Pharmakakawa , was released in November 2024.Practice website: nocturnalherbalist.com

Devil's Botany is the UK's first absinthe distillery, founded by Directors of The Last Tuesday Society's Absinthe Parlour. Celebrating spirit's connection to art, literature, magic & mixology, Devil's Botany is unleashing the future of absinthe with bold expressions for the adventurous drinkers of today.

The venue opens at 18:30. Doors will close at 19:00 to avoid disrupting the speaker. We kindly ask that all guests arrive before 19:00. Refunds are not possible for in person events with less than seven days notice in any circumstances.