Most Latin American countries are known for their coffee and chocolate, and Costa Rica is no different. When we traveled to Costa Rica one of the things I was most excited about, besides the beach, was trying authentic Costa Rican coffee. However, Hannah doesn’t really drink coffee and she was more excited about trying their chocolate. Which is why we were happy to take a tour with Don Juan Tours which has a combined coffee and chocolate tour in La Fortuna.

We were picked up from our lodge in La Fortuna, and after picking up a view other guests, we quickly arrived at their cocoa farm.

To start off the tour, we met one of the staff members who had two bulls pulling a beautifully decorated cart. After a short ride on the cart, it was time to start our coffee tour.

Although the tour took place in their cocoa plantation, they still gave us and in-depth explanation of the history and process of coffee making. They walked us through each step from growing the coffee bean to the various ways its dried. From there, we went on to our coffee sampling.

Next, it was time to start the chocolate tour! Again we were given a lot of information about the history and the process of making chocolate. As we walked around, he cracked open a cocoa fruit and let us try the pulp around the seeds.

We then went off to a table near a kitchen area, where he began to teach us how hot chocolate was made by ancient Mayans.

While he prepared the hot chocolate, he separated us into groups and gave each group some cocoa powder. After a brief explanation on how to make our own chocolate, we got to work and started choosing what flavors we wanted to put in our chocolate.

Once each group was done, he brought out the hot chocolate he was making and, to my surprise, he brought out more chocolates, fruits, and melted chocolate! He even let us take home whatever was left over!

To end the tour, we were taken to their gift shop, where we were given more free coffee and cookies.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed the tour and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is traveling to La Fortuna. Its such a great addition to your trip, especially if you love coffee and chocolate.

Our tour guide was friendly and he taught us so much about both coffee and chocolate. The plantation itself wasn’t filled with people so we never felt rushed, which allowed us to really enjoy each stop on our tour. I was also really surprised by the amount of samples we were given. I knew we were going to get a few samples here and there, but I hadn’t expected all the free chocolate I ended up leaving with.

I was also really surprised with the prices of the products in their gift shop. A lot of the chocolates I had seen prior to going on the tour were really expensive. As a result, I had expected the products in their gift shop to be just as expensive. However, to my surprise, they were actually really affordable. Their large bags of ground coffee were just about $10 USD and large bags of chocolate were about $8 USD. They also had smaller bags of each, which were perfect for me, since I was taking coffee and chocolate back home to give out as souvenirs.

Where is this tour available?

Don Juan Tours have tours available from both Monteverde and La Fortuna. In addition to coffee and chocolate, the tour from Monteverde also includes a sugar cane tour. You can also arrange to be picked up from your lodge.

Can’t go to the tour but would like to try their products?

No problem! They have an online store where you can purchase a few of their products. They don’t have a large selection like they did in their store but its an affordable option to getting authentic Costa Rican chocolates and coffee. I know I definitely will be purchasing from there soon!