How to Tour a Chocolate Farm in Costa Rica
It’s already been a few months since my Costa Rica trip and when I think back on it, two major things stick out in my mind: COFFEE & CHOCOLATE!
My trip to Costa Rica was short but I filled it with all the best things: waterfall hikes, coffee tastings, and a chocolate tour.
If you are planning a trip to La Fortuna, Costa Rica, you should absolutely check out this chocolate tour! I’ll go into all the details below, but it pretty much boils down to this: I learned how cocoa beans grow, got to make my own chocolate truffles, and saw a wild sloth all in an afternoon!
Before we dive into my How to Tour a Chocolate Farm in Costa Rica guide, here are a few other Costa Rica-related posts you might be interested in:
How to Visit the Starbucks Coffee Farm in Costa Rica
6 Epic Things to do in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
Ok, let’s get going! There’s chocolate up ahead!
How To Tour a Chocolate Farm in Costa Rica: Everything You Need to Know
The Basics
In this post, I’m focusing on the Eden Organic Farm in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. This 6000 square meter farm is 100% organic and home to a variety of plants. You’ll see cocoa trees, coffee trees, sugar cane, avocado trees, and pineapple on the farm. If you are lucky, you might also see the sloths, iguanas, toucans, and frogs that call the farm home.
This is a working chocolate farm but it was also created so visitors could get hands-on experience with the chocolate-making process. During the tour, you will get to explore the farm, taste cocoa beans, and make your own chocolate truffles.
Location
Address: Provincia de Alajuela, La Fortuna, Costa Rica
How to Get Here
I’m not gonna lie, I had trouble finding the chocolate farm. My husband and I signed up for a tour through Airbnb Experiences. For some reason, the directions on Airbnb led us to a construction site. So you should just use the location in the above map. There is plenty of parking at the farm if you have your own car.
If you’d rather book a ride in advance, let the farm known when you sign up for your tour. On their website, it says you can arrange for transportation in advance for an additional $10 per person.
Chocolate Tour Options
There are tons of different chocolate tours you could take in Costa Rica. But in this post, I’m specifically focusing on the Eden Chocolate Tour in La Fortuna.
This farm offers a few different tours:
- Chocolate Tour ($27/adult, Hours: 8:00 am – 10:00 am – 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm)– This is the tour I took! During this 1.5 hour tour, you will explore the farm and learn more about the process of making chocolate from the bean to bar. You’ll also get the chance to try a traditional chocolate drink and make your own chocolate.
- Chocolate Tasting ($20/adult, Hours: 9:00 am – 11:00 am – 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm)- This looks like a condensed version of the Chocolate Tour. During this 30-minute experience, you will learn a bit about the bean to bar process and taste 5 different types of chocolate.
- Coffee Tour ($30/adult, Hours: 9:00 am – 11:00 am – 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm)– During this 60-minute tour, you will learn about the process of making coffee from seed to cup. Plus, you will get to taste some delicious local coffee.
You can book your tour online at Eden’s website, in person at the farm or on Airbnb. I personally booked the tour and booked through Airbnb Experiences. It is $30/adult on Airbnb Experiences, but you have the peace of mind knowing you can easily contact someone if you have trouble finding the place (like I did!).
What to Expect
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect before touring this chocolate farm, but I had a great time! Austin and I were the only 2 people on the tour so we had a private experience. (We visited Costa Rica in September during the rainy season so there were fewer tourists here in general).
Our guide was so informative and friendly. She led us around the farm, let us taste the fruit of the cocoa plant and helped us make our own chocolate truffles. Plus, she pointed out the resident sloth who likes to sleep in the trees around the farm. He was adorable and ended up being the only sloth I saw during my entire Costa Rica trip!
Keep in mind, this is a working chocolate farm but it was built with tourists in mind. It is probably smaller than a chocolate farm that is just designed for production. But, this farm offers a great taste for the bean to bar process.
FAQs
Now that we’ve talked about most of the major points, let’s look at some FAQs. This were the big questions I had before touring a chocolate farm in Costa Rica.
Do I need a tour?
If you want to see the farm, you need a tour. Eden Chocolate has a gift shop, which you could visit to purchase some local chocolate. You would be able to see some of the farm and cocoa plants from the gift shop. But if you want a full tour and want to make your own chocolate, you really need to sign up for a tour.
Is it worth the cost?
I’m not going to lie, it felt a bit expensive. $30 for a tour ($60 for both me and Austin) was a bit pricy. But this was a really fun experience and I’ve never toured a chocolate farm before. The tour did last the entire 1.5 hours, the guide was very helpful, and I got to make my own chocolate. Overall I think it’s worth the cost.
Would I do it again?
I don’t necessarily think this is a repeatable experience. But, it’s a fun experience to do once! If you’ve already toured a chocolate farm somewhere else, it probably isn’t worth it to also do this tour. But, if you (like me) had never been to a chocolate farm, I would highly recommend it!
Is this an organic farm?
According to its website, Eden is a 100% organic farm. All products used on the farm are environmentally friendly. They don’t use any artificial pesticides or fertilizers on the farm.
I hope you enjoyed my guide to visiting a chocolate farm in Costa Rica! Have you toured a chocolate farm before? Let me know where in the comments!
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