Espiritu Santo Coffee Tour

The development of Costa Rica has been synonymous with coffee plantations, and no trip to Costa Rica is complete without the native cultural adventure of a coffee tour. A coffee tour in Costa Rica is much more than another edible tour. It is in akin to tracing the national’s culture and development. Espiritu Santo’s 640 acre top-quality Arabica coffee plantation rests in the middle of the scenic rolling mountains of Naranjo, accessibly located near the handcraft center of Sarchi. It is conveniently located enroute to several northern destinations including Arenal, Monteverde, and Guanacaste and hence can be a good stopover while visiting these places from San Jose.

The first stage of the coffee tour is their rancho “El Mirador” where the tourists can sample the delectable and prime gourmet coffee. This place has a capacity of a group of 60 people who can be comfortably accommodated in plush chairs. Here, their expert team of tour guides will introduce themselves to the group and will get them ready to start the tour, that consists of 7 different stations. At the tasting room, visitors will have the chance to learn how to taste coffee. Visitors have international tasters that will teach them how to recognize a good coffee. At the end of the Coffee Tour, once visitors have learned and unwrapped all the secrets within a coffee cup, it is time to get a souvenir. In this store, you will find all the coffee you want.

Espiritu Santo Coffee Tour
Phone:  (506) 2450-3838
Email: info@sds.co.cr
http://www.espiritusantocoffeetour.com/

Doka Estate Coffee Tour

Nestled along the fertile slopes of the Poás Volcano, Doka Estate has been cultivating and fermenting award-winning coffee for multiple generations. This tour allows travelers to gain an up close and personal understanding of how coffee is grown, cultivated, processed and harvested in Costa Rica.

The Doka Estate Coffee Tour is located in the coffee capital of Costa Rica, Sabanilla, Alajuela. The farm belongs to the Costa Rican Vargas Ruiz family, torch bearers of the coffee production in the country for over 70 years. The tour begins in the seedbed. Visitors here will observe and understand the development process of the plant up to the point of collection of the ripe grain. Visitors will also gain insights about the history of the estate, its owners, the production and varieties of plants along with the geography of the area and the conventional ways of grain cultivation.

The next station is the oldest humid coffee processing plant, appointed an Architectural Heritage for Humanity in 2003, that works by hydraulic power. In the receiver you can see the first classification of the grains, afterwards the process of de-pulping of first and second quality coffee takes place in the grinders. Once the tour is concludes a visit is made to the Doka Estate souvenir shop, where visitors can find the coffee packed in cute, sealed take away bags. You can also find art pieces made by Costa Rican craftsmen.

Doka Estate Coffee Tour
Phone: 011-506-2449-5152
Email: info@dokaestate.com
http://www.dokaestate.com/

Café Mondeverde Coffee Tour

A visit to a working coffee farm is should be on the must do list of every traveler in the region. The Cafe Mondeverde tour provides a glimpse of quintessentially rustic Costa Rican life, and introduces visitors to the entire coffee production process, from the seed to when it’s freshly brewed. As an establishment, Cafe Monteverde, is symbolic of Costa Rica’s development, sustainability initiatives and community progress. Café Mondeverde’s interactive tour follows the development of coffee from the seed to the cup in a manner that is entertaining and insightful. Based on their level of interest, participants can choose between a 2-hour or 4-hour tour. The Cooperative of Santa Elena manages Café Monteverde, and all proceeds go towards supporting the local farmer community and local families involved in the production of the coffee.

The tour begins with a brief overview of the region’s history, a story that involves the growth from a rugged frontier land into a prosperous community of settlers, farmers, scientists, conservationists, and coffee producers. The tour then sets along some 500 feet down “La Trocha”, a steep road with panoramic vistas of the Gulf of Nicoya into the San Luis Valley, where the crops of coffee are grown. A native farmer will talk to the tour group about the harvesting process and how the fruit is graded for quality. Guests can pick and taste the ripe coffee berries, a shade-grown Arabica variety of bean. The tour will then continue through some of the establishment’s other sustainable products, including bananas, plantains, oranges and limes. The processing mill, or beneficio, is the next stop. Here, the seed is separated from the fruit and dried in the sun. Once fully dried, the beans are then roasted and exported.

Finally, the tour ends at the coffee shop, where participants are invited to taste a variety of roasts and if so inclined, purchase a pound or two of fresh coffee. Those that choose to take the 4-hour tour will additionally visit the fertilizer and paper making plants, and learn about the sustainable relationship between these two products.

Britt’s Coffee Tour

At Britt’s, the original Costa Rican coffee tour located in the heart of in Barva de Heredia, visitors can enjoy a rewarding coffee tour that takes them through an exciting journey from the seed to the cup . From 1991, more than 500,000 guests from around the world have visited their plantation to learn about and share their passion for Costa Rican coffee. On their Classic Coffee Tour, Britt’s experts guide you through the gourmet coffee lifecycle. The tour begins with their nursery and follows the beans starting with their cultivating cycle through a meticulous assortment and selection of the finest brew beans. Visitors get to know about the region’s unusual climate and varied landscapes that offer near perfect growing conditions for cultivating gourmet coffee beans. Next on the list is a trip to the aromatic roastery where visitors can explore how different roasting methods affect the beans and the brew. They reveal their roasting and packing trade secrets that enable them to deliver the best coffee from their Costa Rican plantation right into your mug.

Visitors can earn how the coffee experts learn to “break the cup” by using methods to taste or “cup” coffee to identify and rate the characteristics that passes the test for a gourmet coffee. Finally, surrounded by their outdoor tropical paradise and while listening to traditional music, visitors have an option of relishing a buffet lunch featuring local ingredients at Britt’s Don Prospero Restaurant. As part of the tour, guests will also visit an old house.

They’ve built the replica of a typical little Costa Rican house, so visitors can see how their ancestors used to live. This is the perfect spot for their guide to explain to you how they used to brew coffee, and why, even though it has been more than 200 years they still use a chorreador instead a coffee maker. Visit their coffee bar, browse their factory store and gift shop and allow them to ship some souvenirs and fresh coffee back to your home where they will serve to remind you of your Costa Rican fiesta. Even the most stoic non-coffee lovers will be easily converted in the premises of this factory, known for its fine brews and unmatched taste.

Britt Coffee Tour
Email: coffeetour@britt.com
From US call: 011.506.2277.1600
From Costa Rica: 2277.1600
http://www.coffeetour.com/

Café Milagro Coffee Tour

Cafe Milagro has teamed-up with their friends at Finca Rosa Blanca to offer visitors an unusual coffee tour experience in Costa Rica. The Finca Rosa Blanca plantation is the prototype for sustainable coffee production in Costa Rica. They encourage all their customers to visit Finca Rosa Blanca and learn where their delicious shade-grown, organic Costa Rican coffee comes from. Experience coffee through the ages; learn how coffee was discovered, traded and consumed, then stroll the lanes of their organic sustainable coffee plantation and learn the entire process of organic cultivation and harvest, including participating in the picking of coffee during their harvest Season (Oct- Jan.) They will then take you through the entire method of processing of coffee, including cleaning the berries and drying them, ending with roasting your own coffee in their roasting and packing house.

Learn how the experts discern and rate gourmet coffee by participating in a “coffee cupping” (catación) session with their knowledgeable Barista and Coffee Tour Guide. Sit out on the spacious deck and enjoy the views of the volcanoes above and coffee fields below while sipping your cappuccino, enjoying fresh Rosa Blanca pastries and learning more about the benefits to the environment and the community of an organic sustainable coffee farm. This tour plus the cupping session will be about 2 hours.

Finca Rosa Blanca coffee plantation is located just 20 minutes from the international airport in San Jose, making it a perfectly accessible location to begin your Costa Rican adventures. Dining and lodging options are also available at Café Milagro’s award-winning boutique hotel.

Café Milaro Coffee Tour
Tel. +506.2777.0794 or +506.2777.2272
Email: info@cafemilagro.com
http://www.cafemilagro.com/coffee-tour/