Five Things To Expect on a Chocolate/Coffee Farm Tour in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
A volcano, a mosquito, and a chocolate bean?!
We had no idea how these three things would intersect to provide such an incredible afternoon in La Fortuna, Costa Rica! Have you ever wanted to learn more about how a coffee plant or chocolate seed are grown? You need to add this to your excursion list while visiting Costa Rica. We toured a chocolate/coffee farm on a rainy afternoon in the shadow of Arenal Volcano and here are five things to expect:
1. Bring comfortable shoes, a light jacket and bug spray. You’ll be walking through an outdoor greenhouse and while it is covered with clear tarps so you won’t get rained on, be prepared in case it’s cooler. Because all the different plants producing fruit at the farm rely on pollination from mosquitos, there are lots of them. By the end of our tour, we had so much appreciation for the mosquitos good work, they were no longer a nuisance.
2. A local expert will be your guide and will point out different plants and flowers. Did you know banana plants grow for about nine months before starting to decay? Did you know vanilla plants grow as a vine? It was fascinating!
Banana flower (left) and vanilla bean vine (right).
3. You will get to see, touch and taste cacao beans—the main ingredient in chocolate. Our guide pointed out the different life stages of the fruit and we learned about the entire process involved in make chocolate including harvesting, cleaning, fermentation, drying, roasting and grinding.
The different stages of a cacoa plant from flower to seed.
4. You will get to make your own chocolate! From grinding cacao nibs, to choosing different ingredients to add like honey, cinnamon, cayenne, and vanilla, you can add your own flavors and create a souvenir to leave with.
Ingredients available to add to our own chocolate concoction.
5. You get to grind your own authentic Costa Rica coffee beans and learn the entire coffee process, from seed to your own steamy cup.
Coffee bean seeds (left) and enjoying our own cup with our guide, Axl (after Guns N’ Roses, baby!)
Pro tip! If you are a birder, bring binoculars. We saw so many beautiful birds drawn to the area by the fruit and those necessary mosquitos! Toucans and Crimson Collared Tanagers just to name a few.
Are you ready to experience a vacation pura vida style? I would love to help you get to Costa Rica! All of my travel design services are complimentary and you can email me at: [email protected] or request a quote here.
