la iguana chocolate tour

LA IGUANA CHOCOLATE

FARM TO BAR CRAFT CHOCOLATE & EXPERIENCES

La Iguana Chocolate is a small Costa Rican family run cacao farm and chocolate company. We grow cacao and make chocolate on our farm in Mastatal, Costa Rica. We are cacao farmers turned chocolate makers.

We farm in harmony with nature. We make craft chocolate.

WE ARE FARM TO BAR

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Two Weeks in Costa Rica

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Making Organic Chocolate at La Iguana Chocolate

• Jenn and Matt
• Activities , Culture

23 Comments

Among fields of pineapple and palm is a different kind of farm trying to bring back a lost art: the art of making chocolate. La Iguana Chocolate , set in the rural mountains outside Parrita, is one of a handful of bean-to-bar chocolate producers in Costa Rica. They’re one of the only chocolatiers in this area of the Pacific Coast, and after seeing this awesome video , we really wanted to pay them a visit. While recently staying in Jaco , we had a chance to take a day trip up to the village of Mastatal. Below we share our experience and some tips for visiting La Iguana Chocolate.

A Fallen Crop

Our tour began along the edge of the four hectare (10 acre) property where our host, Jorge, told us a little about the farm and the history of cacao. We learned that Jorge’s family had been farming the land surrounding us for over 30 years. In addition to cacao, they grew many other crops like avocados, squash, beans, bananas, oranges, and lemons. In recent years, the family had started focusing on making artisan chocolate, with Jorge playing a big role.

Pointing to a large yellow fruit protruding from the side of a tree, Jorge told us that this was a healthy cacao pod. With careful land management, their many cacao trees were hardy and productive, but it hadn’t always been that way. In the 1980s, a fungus had spread in Central and South America, wiping out almost the entire crop. Farmers in Costa Rica had planted cacao trees upon the encouragement of the Costa Rican government, and when the blight hit, they didn’t know what to do. Their trees were producing less and less cacao. Production fell by as much as 90%, which caused prices to plummet.

Jorge along with Vicky, another chocolatier at La Iguana, told us that the fungus was only part of the problem. The underlying issue was poor land and crop management. While the government had encouraged farmers to grow cacao, it didn’t provide the necessary support on how best to do it. Not knowing how to deal with the blight, the farmers cut down their cacao trees and moved on to more profitable types of farming or ranching.

Today few producers in Costa Rica create bean-to-bar chocolate. In stores, you’ll find the usual Hershey’s and maybe some Belgian chocolate, but typically nothing local. The Salazar Garcia family is working hard to change that. In addition to the four hectare plot, they have another 12 hectares (30 acres) of farmland with 3,500 cacao trees. Plans are also in the works to raise funds to buy more land for growing cacao.

The Chocolate-Making Process

After seeing how cacao grows and learning about its complicated history, we saw how chocolate is made as La Iguana would say, from tree to truffle.

The process starts with the raw cacao fruit. Each slimy white seed is plucked from inside the pod and dried and fermented. Fermentation lasts between 4-6 days. The way it works is fruit flies come to eat the sugar on the seeds, and in doing so, carry yeast from the environment. After the beans are fermented, they’re dried in the sun for a couple of days and turn to the familiar shade of brown. The dried beans are then roasted on low heat for 15-20 minutes to loosen the shell. At that point, you have to remove the shell so that when you grind the beans, the resulting chocolate is silky smooth.

And that’s where the fun began. Vicky came over with an overflowing container of the brown beans and dropped them on a wide wooden table in front of us. We peeled off the tough outer skins of each small seed revealing the raw, warm chocolate. It smelled just like brownies. We then took turns moving the deep dark insides over an ancient grinder.

The next step was to run the coarse grinds through a more modern grinder to make them finer. Once ground, they are placed in a large electric bowl with rollers that spin and constantly press the chocolate. This process takes the longest (sometimes days) as it combines the chocolate molecules together and distributes the natural cacao butter evenly. Jorge and Vicky told us they add an extra 10% of cacao butter to the raw cacao to make it even more creamy and buttery. They told us that the difference between their chocolate and more commercial confectioners is that the big companies use fillers instead of pure cacao butter to keep costs down. A little cane sugar is also added to the mixture along with any flavorings like vanilla, cayenne pepper, or cinnamon.

Next we got to try our hand at tempering the chocolate, smoothing it along a marble surface to get it to the right temperature. Mastering the technique was harder than it looked but we started to get it after a while.

Finally, we formed the liquidy chocolate into individual truffles and a bar. A few minutes in the refrigerator later, and we had decadent, melt-in-your-mouth organic chocolate. It was delicious!

If you’re looking to get off-the-beaten path on your trip to Jaco or Manuel Antonio/Quepos , consider a visit to La Iguana Chocolate. This was one of the most authentic tours we’ve ever taken in Costa Rica. Learning about how chocolate is made from a family who does it every day was truly special and gave us a new appreciation for one of our favorite indulgences.

La Iguana Chocolate Tour Information

$20, for 2-2.5 hour tour

Arranging a Tour

Contact La Iguana Chocolate at laiguanachocolate(at)gmail(dot)com or by using the phone number on their website .

Volunteering

La Iguana Chocolate also has a volunteer program, and there were a number of volunteers on our visit. Check out their website for more information .

Directions to La Iguana Chocolate

La Iguana Chocolate is located in a remote area of Costa Rica in the village of Mastatal. It is not well signed so be sure to print out these directions if you don’t have GPS.

Take the Costanera highway (Route 34) towards Parrita to Route 239 towards Puriscal (there is a sign for Route 239/Puriscal). Go about 33 km (20.5 miles), following signs for San Jose; you’ll pass through several small towns, climbing into the mountains. After about 1 hour 15 minutes, take a right onto 318. This road is not well marked- look for a small sign for Mastatal. Go 6.8 km (4.3 miles) more to the town of Mastatal. La Iguana Chocolate is about 1 km past the main area of town on the left.

Conditions and Travel Time: Once you get off the coastal highway, the road turns to bumpy dirt for the rest of the way. Allow around 1.5-2 hours from the turnoff for Route 239. Four-wheel drive with higher clearance is recommended for the dry season and required for the rainy season.

Approximate Drive Time from Jaco: 2-2.5 hours

Approximate Drive Time from Manuel Antonio/Quepos: 2-2.5 hours

[box type=”bio”] If you plan to drive and need to rent a car, check out this special discount for our readers to save 10-25%. [/box]

Have you ever done a chocolate tour? What did you think?

I had my amazing stay there last April for two months (2014). Such a beautiful place and great people. I learnt so much and the family were incredibly welcoming. I am now furtunate enough to use their cocoa beans in my chocolates and truffles in the UK.

A real nice article with some great pictures.

Hi Jamie, that’s amazing that you got to spend 2 months at La Iguana- must have been a wonderful experience. Your chocolates look amazing, by the way!

We are so enjoying your blog, Matt and Jenn! The chocolate looks amazing. We may try to do a day trip too. Fred and I are now in our casita in Herradura. It is so serene here. We saw monkeys on Tuesday and a very large iguana yesterday…all from our patio. Sadly, we need to sell our casita, but we will always return to Costa Rica. If you have any suggestions for places to stay in the Osa, would love to hear them. We have not been, but are determined to visit this trip.

Hi Marsha, Thanks for reading! That’s great that you are back in Costa Rica and enjoying the awesome wildlife around Herradura, we saw a lot while we were there too. You should definitely check out La Iguana, it’s a nice day-trip from Herradura and the drive is really beautiful. The OSA is also amazing and is a must. We are actually heading to Drake Bay next week for a few days so look for a fresh post about that soon! Great to hear from you!

We just returned from our first trip to CR and spent 8 days in Manuel Antonio. Sadly, we missed La Iguana Chocolate. This sounds like another great reason to return. Thank you for the great articles and information. I am always excited when the next email arrives!

Definitely a good reason to come back, Duane (as if you needed an excuse, right?). Thanks so much for the kind words about our blog- we really appreciate it.

Subscribing to your blog right now! Great information on a place we fell instantly in love with!

Awesome Sunny, thanks!

Hi Jenn and Matt – our last day in Costa Rica will be driving from Dominical back to a B&B near the SJO airport. We don’t really have much planned that day other than the drive and returning the rental car. Do you think we would have time to add in the Iguana Tour and still get back to San Jose by night fall, or do you think that would be too much for one day?

Thanks for all of your work here! Your blog and book have been incredible for helping with trip planning.

Hi Ken, It would probably be too much to try to fit in a stop since La Iguana is so far off the main road. Not sure when you are coming, but we heard that the road getting there is in really bad shape after TS Nate. It’s not passable the whole way from Puriscal to San José right now.

Easier stops would be a crocodile river tour in Tarcoles , a spice farm tour near Quepos, or Rainmaker Nature Park .

Thanks for the reply! We will be in Dominical from December 3-7 but will try to fit something else in on the drive to San Jose. Too bad, that chocolate looks delicious

I’m thinking of going to the La Iguana chocolate tour in July. will be heading there from Parrita. How is the road? I will have 4×4.

HI John, We talk about this below the map- see Conditions and Travel Time. It’s slow going but a beautiful drive. A 4×4 will be perfect.

Love your blog – it has been so helpful in planning our trip. We would like to take this tour between our stay in San Ramon (Villa Blanca) and Quepos/MA. What route would we take to get there and how driveable is it? Would an arranged transfer work for this connection? Any additional information on this and similar connections would be greatly appreciated — as I’m currently having the great debate over driving vs. arranged transfers. Thank you!!

Hi Kristin, Unfortunately La Iguana is quite far out of the way for you. We have not driven the whole way from Highway 34 north to San Jose via Puriscal but as far as we know, most of that is slow rough dirt road. To get from San Ramon to Quepos, the preferred route is the coastal Highway, 34. You wouldn’t want to access La Iguana that way, though, since it’s a long detour off Highway 34. You could arrive by private shuttle but it would be expensive since it’s a long trip. Maybe it would be better to do as a day trip from Manuel Antonio?

Hi! It’s fun to find someone else that was at La Iguana. I work at a chocolate shop in St. Louis, MO, and a group of us enjoyed a weekend visit early this month. We stayed at the farm, and loved every minute of it! In fact, we brought home some untempered chocolate, and created a special treat to celebrate Earth Day. We flew into San Jose and spent the first night. The next day, we boarded our shuttle for a 4 hour (approx) drive to the farm. On the trip back to the airport, our driver took us along the Pacific coast. We had a fantastic time; in fact, can’t wait to visit again!

Hi Barb, That’s great that you enjoyed your visit! How cool to go since you’re in the industry. Thanks for sharing your experience.

This tour sounds amazing! Do you know if there is public transportation that can take you there if you are not renting a car (like taxis)?

Hi Brittany, We wouldn’t try taking the bus unless you’re planning to do an overnight near the farm, but you definitely arrange a taxi to take you. It is remotely located so it will probably be quite pricey depending on where you’re coming from, since the driver will wait for you to do the tour. A private shuttle/driver is another option. Let us know if you’d like us to get you a quote. There’s more info on our website here .

Hi, if we fly into San Jose and our first location is Manuel Antonio, is there a place to stay the first night near la iguana chocolate? Would like to do a tour of the chocolate farm and thinking this might be the best way to fit it in and head to Manuel Antonio from there the next day. Thanks

Hi Tasha, La Iguana is near the town of Puriscal, which has a few ecolodges and Airbnbs. We would try looking there.

Waze tells me that la iguana is just over an hour from Manuel Antonio. Is this accurate? Do we need to contact them first or just show up?

Hi Brad, I think it will be a little more than that but the road is paved now so much faster. I would allow 1.5 hours to be safe. Definitely make a reservation in advance. When you contact them, you can confirm the drive time from Manuel Antonio.

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Cocoa-Scented Dreams: A Chocolate Tour In Costa Rica

If your happy place involves dark chocolate in every form imaginable, this post is going to tick all your boxes…

If the sentence above made you cringe, then I’m not sure we can be friends.  And also, this post may be your nightmare.  Because So. Much. Chocolate.

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When I knew another Costa Rica trip was in the cards for me, finding a way to do a chocolate tour quickly skyrocketed to the top of the itinerary list.

It was something @sjems5 and I wanted to do when we were in Costa Rica last time , but we couldn’t find any tour options near us (because apparently we’re bad at Googling, or possibly La Iguana wasn’t offering tours at the time).

Surprisingly I only found a few options for chocolate tours in Costa Rica—I expected many more!  But while I found a few options for this trip, it quickly became apparent that La Iguana was by far the best choice.

Note, check out my super detailed post on renting a car and driving in Costa Rica , because you DEFINITELY need a car to reach La Iguana.

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So we got it booked and headed up there on our first morning in the country.  We were driving from Manuel Antonio, and quickly realized that the roads up to La Iguana aren’t for the faint of heart…particularly after the insane amount of rain they’d had recently.

I won’t make you motion-sick by embedding the video here, but suffice to say we were thoroughly jolted when we arrived.

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We also ended up with a flat tire, because we took a much longer way (hoping that it was a nicer road…spoiler alert: it wasn’t) and BOY the roads were rough.

The scenery *was* gorgeous to be fair, and we were truly out in the midst of “real life” Costa Rica.  But I wish we’d taken the other way 🙂

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But we finally arrived!  La Iguana is a lush little farm up on a mountain, run by a small family.  Mariana greeted us warmly and then we got started on the tour.

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Besides a few different varieties of cacao, they grow lots of other things on the farm, including many of the flavorings that go into the chocolate (ginger, chilis, etc.).

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Mariana started out with a history of growing cacao in Costa Rica and her family’s history with the cacao farm specifically.  Then we briefly walked through the process of growing, harvesting, and processing the cacao beans to make chocolate.

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She sliced one of thee big pods off the tree and broke it open to see the slimy beans in there.  You don’t really want to eat those, they don’t taste great.  Instead, first they’re fermented, then dried and roasted.

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Then we put them through a machine that ground them up roughly (not superfine).

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As you can see, there are still all sorts of shell bits and such in there, so we then go really high-tech and use a blow dryer to get those out and leave just the cocoa bean pieces 🙂

Now we’re talkin’!

There are two different ways of really grinding up the cacao beans from here…one is a machine that makes it into a rich creamy paste (this still has the cocoa butter in there, so it’s really lovely).

The other way is super traditional, they have this rock slab that’s super old and you basically grind it into a fine powder/paste by hand.   We all got to try, and it was a super satisfying feeling!

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This is where a chocolate farm tour gets REALLY good!  The next part of the tour is getting to try the chocolate in a few different forms.

First, Mariana made hot chocolate, which is just basically the cocoa powder/paste and hot water.  She added a tiny bit of chili as well, and I added a little sugar to mine.  We ate them with delicious chocolate chip cookies (made from freshly-ground sugar cane…more on that in a minute!!) and rich melted chocolate.

Then we got to make chocolate truffles the traditional way.  We took the rich chocolate paste/powder and added some freshly-ground sugar cane to it.  This stuff is AMAZING!!!  I could just eat it by itself.

It’s still got that molasses-y flavor like turbinado sugar does, but there’s also a fruitiness to it and it’s really moist.  If I could get my hands on this in the U.S., it would be game-over for me.

As a group, we got to decide on a couple different flavors of truffle to make.  We went with vanilla sea salt, and then ginger orange.  We just added the fresh ingredients here and started mushing it together (technical term…).

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Then we donned our plastic gloves and got to work filling the little truffle molds.  These are traditional shapes, vs. the round truffles we often think of.

Once they were all made, we topped with some melted chocolate and devoured them.  Honestly I was starting to feel a little ill from all the chocolate at this point.  But I persevered, because I’m not a quitter 🙂

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Finally we had some sustenance to settle all that chocolate.  One of the options with the chocolate farm tour is to have a traditional lunch, prepared by Mariana’s mother.

The group sat down to rice, beans, tortillas, casava patties, some kind of jackfruit mixture, guacamole, and delicious fresh fruit juice.  It was all so good!  The casava patties in particular were my favorite, and it was all just so fresh and healthy.

At this point we had to pay the piper on our tire, but I’d say it was totally worth it.

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And now I can say I truly know how all of my favoritest things are made!  I’ve done wine, coffee, and chocolate tours, and now I’m in-the-know.  It was really interesting how similar the processes are for processing coffee and chocolate—in many ways they’re almost identical!

Have I convinced you to brave the trek up to La Iguana??  If so, here are some tips for making your trip awesome.

Tips for booking a chocolate tour in Costa Rica

• We visited the farm La Iguana , (you can see the TripAdvisor reviews here ).
• Tours are $30, and the optional lunch (I believe) is $10.
• Tours are at 10am Monday through Saturday, and last around 2.5 hours but can be longer.  Ours was longer because people arrived at different times (and then there was lunch), so it was 2pm by the time we were rolling out of there.
• You will need to email them to book, and don’t leave it til the last minute—there can be delays in response because they are a working farm and there aren’t many of them.  In a pinch, leave a note on their Facebook wall or shoot them a Facebook message.
• Make sure you leave PLENTY of time to make the drive up there, so you can go slowly and protect your tires.
• I can’t remember if she takes credit cards (maybe not?), but I’d bring some cash in case you want to purchase chocolate to take with you, or other souvenirs.  I got some cocoa powder, a couple small chocolate bars, and a pretty coffee mug.

Once we got to Dominical, here’s where we stayed…it’s an insane Airbnb villa with amazing views!

Other food tour adventures you’ll love:

• Steeped In Tradition: Visiting A Tea Plantation In The Azores
• A Party for Your Taste Buds: Medellin Exotic Fruits Tour
• Devouring Istanbul’s Asian Side: A Food Tour
• Why You Have to Visit a Coffee Farm in Colombia
• My Own Willy Wonka Moment: Switzerland’s Cailler Chocolate Factory
• Exploring Asheville’s Best:  A (Frigid) Food Tour

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La Iguana Chocolate - All You MUST Know Before You Go (2024)

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Puriscal Snapshot

• Summary: Traditional small town off the tourist trail; hotspot for rural tourism and close to indigenous reserves.
• Landscape: Cloud Forest, Mountains
• Attractions: La Cangreja National Park
• Activities: Hiking, Indigenous Cultural Tours, Sugar Cane Tours
• Caters to: Budget Travelers, Culture Aficionados, Independent Travelers
• Quick Facts: 30 miles west of San Jose ; 2,500-4,000 feet above sea level ; Spring-like temperatures year-round ; 64-85 F

Santiago de Puriscal, called Puriscal by locals, was once part of the Western Huetar Kingdom, a Costa Rican indigenous group. The area was an important crossroads, used by the Huetar as a central meeting ground and resting place. Later, after Spanish conquest, the small village continued its geographical roll, serving as a stopping point on the central trade route between Costa Rican and Panama.

Today, this mountain town enjoys a picturesque location as well as easy access to Pacific coast beaches – Puntarenas is just 30 minutes away via the new Caldera Highway. The quiet ambiance offers a relaxing alternative to bustling San Jose and the country’s more touristed areas. At La Cangreja National Park, miles of hiking trails and lovely viewpoints await, while two neighboring indigenous reserves offer a slice of authentic Costa Rican culture.

Puriscal has also grown as an agricultural center and residential community, and the area attracts visitors interested in rural tourism. Tour operators and independent organizations invite travelers to experience Costa Rica's great outdoors as a local: meet farmers, learn to herd cattle, or catch tilapia with just a hook and line. The Central Valley’s historic traditions are celebrated, and cultural visits include trips to a sugar cane farm and a local cigar factory.

Accommodations in Puriscal cater to moderate to upscale travelers and range in price from $50-$200 per night. A popular wellness retreat has beautiful accommodations and offers regular workshops on yoga and organic living. Healthy honeymoons, adventure packages, and holistic health guidance are also a specialty. Several local hotels include food in their rates, and meals are served family-style. Homestay options are also available – stay with a local family, practice Spanish, and dine on food grown locally. Many area businesses accept credit cards, and there are several ATMs downtown.

Attractions: 

Don franklin’s trapiche tour.

Follow the journey of sugar from the cane field to the supermarket – and participate in each step of the process. Use the trapiche, a traditional sugar cane press, to make sweet sugar cane juice, and sample a variety of goodies made from fresh sugar. This tour must be arranged through a hotel or local tour operator.

La Iguana Chocolate Farm

Located in the quaint village of Mastatal de Puriscal, the family-run La Iguana Chocolate Farm has produced organic chocolate for more than 25 years. Take a tour and learn how cacao is harvested, dried and fermented to produce cocoa powder, chocolate and other delicious goodies. The sustainable farm also welcomes volunteers to assist in cocoa production and service projects in the local community. Phone: 2410-6325; schedule: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily; $25 chocolate tour.

La Cangreja National Park

Located 20 miles west of Puriscal, La Cangreja is comprised of land once described as “the Garden of Eden.” The park’s fertile soil and virgin rainforest nourish a wealth of flora and fauna, including poison dart frogs, river turtles, basilisk lizards, sloths, armadillos, and more than 2,000 plant species. Be sure to stop at La Cangreja, a stunning lookout point, and explore the lower hiking trails – a series of paths rarely visited by tourists. Volunteers are welcome to assist in various conservation projects. Phone: 2601-0020; schedule: 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.; closed Mondays.

Turu Ba Ri Tropical Park

Enjoy the adventure of a lifetime – choose from a zip line canopy tour, Tarzan swing, or the sensational Superman cable, which sends you flying 4,000 feet at a whopping 55 mph! More serene activities include a nature tour, horseback riding, and a scenic ride on the aerial tram. The park is in Turrubares, approximately 10 miles west of Puriscal. Phone: 2250-0705; schedule: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 2011: Closed until further notice.

Vegas de Santiago Tobacco Tour (Santiago de Puriscal)

Visit a local cigar factory and learn how cigars are made. Discover special tobacco processes, how to roll a good cigar, and other celebrated traditions. The tour also explains the positive impact tobacco has had on the Puriscal region. Phone: 2416-6744/8881-8568; schedule: 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday.

Zapaton and Quitirrisi Indigenous Reserves

The Huetar indigenous tribe once dominated the zone, and their traditions live on in the small communities of Zapanton and Quitirrisi. Take a tour of the beautiful reserves, learn how the people live, and enjoy a typical meal with a Huetar family. Arrange this special tour with your hotel or local tour operator.

Getting There:

Bus: San Jose to Puriscal: $1.30; direct buses leave when full; nonstop buses leave every hour from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Departs from the Coca Cola bus station at Calle 16 between Avenidas 1 and 3. 2248-1703.

Car: Take Highway 27 west out of San Jose. Shortly after Santa Ana, follow signs south to Ciudad Colon and Puriscal.

Puriscal in Pictures

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Puriscal Travel Guide

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La Iguana Chocolate - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

La Iguana Chocolate

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LA IGUANA CHOCOLATE (Santiago de Puriscal) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

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Food Tours and Retreats · Tours

Costa Rica Chocolate Tours

March 26, 2014 by Sam

Mastatal de Puriscal

Nestled in the charming village of Mastatal de Puriscal, the family-run La Iguana Chocolate Farm has churned out organic chocolates for a quarter century. Visitors here get to take a tour and gain insights on how cacao is grown, dried and fermented to produce cocoa powder, chocolate and other delectable items that we dream of. The sustainable farm offers every day tours and takes in volunteers to help with cocoa production and native community development projects.

About a half an hour west of Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula, the Finca Cabo farm is completely sustainable and home to a number of wild animals, including sloths and monkeys. The highlight of the tour is when at the end visitors are served white pineapple, freshly baked and aromatic banana bread, a sumptuous piece of chocolate cake and four different types of bananas to dunk into just made chocolate sauce by the owners.

The Bibri Indigenous Reserve

A mere 30 minutes to the north of Playa Chiquita, the Bribri Indigenous Reserve is celebrated for its wide range of delicious chocolate based products. For centuries, the Bribri have harvested cacao and used the beans for significant rituals. Chocolate tours are available at several Bribri homes, where cacao artisans take visitors through the entire chocolate-making procedure. The highlight of the tour is homemade chocolate available for purchase at the end of every tour.

The Tirimbina Rainforest Center

The Tirimbina Rainforest Center, located on the periphery of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, offers a delectable chocolate tour which is one of the most sought after attractions in the region. One gets to explore the natural history of the ancient food and the entire chocolate-making process. The three-hour experience includes a tour of an erstwhile cacao plantation and a taste of hot cocoa and organic chocolate.

Tirimbina Chocolate Tour Tirimbina Biological Reserve La Virgen de Sarapiquí, Heredia Phone : (506) 2761-0333 Email: [email protected] [email protected] http://www.tirimbina.org/ecotourism/chocolate-tour.html

La Iguana Chocolate Farm

Located in the charming countryside region of Mastatal de Puriscal, the quaint family-run La Iguana Chocolate Farm has produced organic chocolate for more than 25 years. Take a tour and learn how cacao is cultivated, dried and preserved to make cocoa powder, chocolate and other delectable cocoa related items. This popular sustainable farm offers daily tours and welcomes volunteers to help out with the cocoa production and local community projects.

La Laguna Farm [email protected] La Iguana Chocolate Mastatal, Puriscal, 10401, San Jose, Costa Rica Jorge: (506) 8725 8644 – English & Spanish Farm: (506) 2200 0924 – Spanish Only http://www.laiguanachocolate.com/Home.html  

Sibu Chocolate

Sibu Chocolate Apdo. #308-3017 San Isidro, Heredia Costa Rica, Central America Email: [email protected] Phone: Tel/fax: (506) 2268-1335 http://www.sibuchocolate.com/chocolate-tour.html

The Puerto Viejo Limon

The Puerto Viejo Limon in the Caribbean offers for the first time, gourmet bean-to-bar chocolate is being made right in front of your eyes. Their project is a sustainable permaculture farm where resident volunteers and staff are constantly toiling to restore the cacao and the forest garden in a balanced environment and sustainable way. Tour guests can experience a guided hike through their cacao forest while learning of the historical legacy of the region’s chocolate. Visitors can also enjoy a fulfilling chocolate tasting session of several chocolates from many small chocolate farms in Costa Rica. You can gain knowledgeable insights about everything from the history of chocolate from an Aztec ceremonial drink to top grade European style chocolate bars blended with indigenous spices.

The Puerto Viejo Limon Dentro Om Yoga 25 mts norte de Cabinas El Tesoro Playa Cocles, Puerto Viejo, Limon Costa Rica Email:[email protected] Phone:011 506 88368930  or  011 506 83412034 http://caribeanscr.com/index.html

Don Juan Chocolate Tour 506 2645 7100 [email protected] https://www.donjuancoffeetour.com/chocolate-tour-monteverde-costa-rica.html

Ola Chocolates

Located in Cartago, Ola Chocolates are produced by the Esquivel Benjamin family. You can visit their farms to learn how they have incorporated different generations of the Costa Rican family into their business. Everyone here shares the work, including harvesting the seedpods to upkeeping the records for the organic certification process. Since all the members of the family pitch in to contribute their efforts they are able to maintain the fine chocolate quality.

Ola Chocolates 3 km este de Carbo Azul, Valle Azul Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica 30501 [email protected] Telephone: (506)8723-8789 http://www.costaricachocolates.com/

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• Central America
• The Best Chocolate Tours To...

The Best Chocolate Tours to Take in Costa Rica

It has been estimated that one billion people eat chocolate everyday. The average American eats roughly twelves pounds of chocolate a year, while Europeans consume around fifteen pounds. When chocolate isn’t overly processed, it provides amazing health benefits. The history , production, and health benefits of chocolate is fascinating and you can find out more by taking one of these tours. Did you know – Culture Trip now does bookable, small-group trips? Pick from authentic, immersive Epic Trips , compact and action-packed Mini Trips and sparkling, expansive Sailing Trips .

Caribbeans coffee and chocolate.

Caribbeans Coffee and Chocolate is a small family owned business based out of Puerto Viejo. Caribbeans is a sustainable perma-culture farm that places great value on the environment and local community and is working to ensure that both are taken care of. Caribbeans works closely with local indigenous tribes and provides livable and fair wages to those they employ. This is one of the best places in Costa Rica to learn about the history, growth, production, and distribution of chocolate from the Caribbean coast.

Rainforest Chocolate Tour

The Rainforest Chocolate Tour is based out of La Fortuna. This very informative and hands-on experience will give you the opportunity to learn about the “food of the gods,” and how it is produced from tree to finished product. A highly experienced guide will share with you a wealth of information about cacao and chocolate. You will also get to try a traditional chocolate drink that was enjoyed by the great ancestors of this area.

Jaguar, Chocolate, and Waterfall Tour

This amazing tour combines three wonderful activities on the Caribbean coast: a visit to the Jaguar Rescue Center, an introduction to the world of chocolate in Costa Rica , and a beautiful walk to a waterfall. The chocolate portion of this tour will include visiting a family-owned cacao farm where you will learn all about how cacao is grown and harvested and made into chocolate. This family-friendly jaguar, chocolate, and waterfall tour will be an unforgettable one!

Sibu Chocolate Tour

Sibu is relatively new, but is already considered one of the top chocolate companies in Costa Rica . This small, but impressively productive company is adamant about producing organic, entirely produced in Costa Rica, and high quality in every measure, chocolate. The passion of Sibu shines through in their delectable assortment of chocolate products. Taking a tour of this highly innovative and sustainable company will be a completely captivating chocolate experience.

Bri Bri Chocolate Tour

Visiting the Bri Bri indigenous reserve in the foothills of the Talamanca mountains on the Caribbean coast is a truly wonderful cultural experience. During this tour, you will have the opportunity to learn all about the indigenous Bri Bri people, their culture, their way of life, their ancient remedies and herbal medicines, and then experience the original way in which chocolate was made. You will visit a cacao plantation and participate in making chocolate using the original tools and methods of the Bri Bri people. During this exciting chocolate tour at the Watsi Bri Bri community , you will taste five different flavors of chocolate.

La Iguana Chocolate Tour

La Iguana Chocolate is a family owned and operated sustainable cacao and chocolate company that is part of the small rural community of Mastatal in Puriscal. La Iguana has been growing cacao for the past thirty years and has been producing high quality organic chocolate for the past seven years. During this tour, you will learn about the process of cacao and chocolate production from the tree state to the finished product. This is an incredibly beautiful and bio diverse area to visit, as it is nestled at the foothills of La Cangreja National Park .

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Finca Luna Nueva Chocolate Tour

Finca Luna Nueva is a sustainable rainforest eco lodge that goes beyond just being a environmentally friendly and beautiful place to stay, it also considers itself a “living classroom” where guests have multiple opportunities to learn through tours and workshops all about sustainability and eco conscious practices that can be incorporated back into everyday life. The chocolate tour at Finca Luna Nueva is a “thousand-year chocolate journey.”

Culture Trips launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes places and communities so special.

Our immersive trips , led by Local Insiders, are once-in-a-lifetime experiences and an invitation to travel the world with like-minded explorers. Our Travel Experts are on hand to help you make perfect memories. All our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

All our travel guides are curated by the Culture Trip team working in tandem with local experts. From unique experiences to essential tips on how to make the most of your future travels, we’ve got you covered.

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