As a picky eater, I can’t get on a person for not liking chocolate, but that’s not to say that I don’t look at you suspiciously. It is, after all, the food of the gods… Literally, as the cacao tree is called Theobroma cacao in Latin, which means “food of the gods.”
But how is it made, and why should you even care? Well, taking a chocolate tour in Costa Rica will answer both of these questions.
I’ve taken tours of distilleries, breweries, bakeries, wineries, etc, but my Costa Rica chocolate tour was probably one of my favorites. It’s informative, hands-on, and very filling. And to be completely honest, this is a fun and delicious tour to take!
Fire roasted cacao beans.
A La Fortuna Chocolate Tour
While in Costa Rica, I knew that I wanted to take a chocolate tour. I’ve always loved chocolate and been interested in how it’s made.
A cursory search will give you several chocolate plantations in the La Fortuna area. The one I chose was Rainforest Chocolate Tour, Costa Rica. I’m not going to deny it; I chose them because they were the closest chocolate-only tour, about fifteen minutes from my hotel.
With only 700 trees, they’re considered to be a small operation. In fact, they only produce enough chocolate for their tours. So this means you won’t be able to go to the grocery store and buy a bar of their making.
I know this bothers some people because it’s not considered a “working plantation”, but guess what.
The process of making chocolate is the same! There’s no special “large-farm secret method”. So what’s the difference between them having 700 trees or 70,000 trees?
If you go to a larger plantation, you’re still going to be doing all the same things and learning the same stuff. Unless maybe you wanted to just push a button on an industrial machine.
This tour also supports the local economy.
Some…. delicious? looking cacao pods.
Combination Tours
One thing you will also see are coffee tours. Or more commonly, combination coffee and chocolate tours.
I don’t drink coffee, so I didn’t take one of these, but one of the families on my tour did. They said that the combination chocolate and coffee tour took the same amount of time as our chocolate-only tour, which was about two hours.
Bro, do you even math?
It’s up to you if you want to spend half the time on each activity, but I personally felt that two hours was the perfect length for my Costa Rican chocolate tour.
Learning all about the history of chocolate on a Costa Rican Chocolate Tour!
My chocolate tour experience!
The tour starts off as you’d expect. You’ll talk about the history of chocolate, where it’s most produced, and the different types. There’s even a bit of Q&A included. Did you know that most chocolate is now made in Africa?
After that, you’ll enter the plantation and walk among the cacao trees with cacao pods of various colors. I never knew that the pods came in different colors, but much like with brown cows not producing chocolate milk (The lies! Thanks Dad!) this is purely cosmetic and has no effect on the chocolate itself.
You probably won’t see many full-size pods hanging from the trees because they need to be picked immediately. This is because squirrels love to eat the beans.
Squirrels are one of the worst pests, so to combat them, they leave out an abundance of food alternatives with the hope that an easy meal will stop them from ruining the pods.
At one point during the tour, I was asked to chase one away! The little thief was breaking open a pod that wasn’t even ripe.
After walking through the trees, you’ll head into a pavilion where there are tables and benches set up.
Here you’ll be taken through the process of making chocolate step-by-step.
How to make chocolate!
The demonstration starts with a ripe pod, and a volunteer to smash it open.
That privilege fell to me. The pod itself felt pretty solid, and knowing how people get booed on The Price is Right for not spinning the big wheel hard enough, I put some extra force into my swing.
One and done, because I crushed it with my overenthusiasm.
Inside of a cacao pod.
After I cracked it open, our guide carefully removed the clump of beans from within.
Throughout the tour, you’re allowed to taste the beans in each step of the process, so we were each given a raw one to taste before the extras went onto the drying rack. They will then be left to dry for five to ten days.
Cacao beans drying on display for the tour. Each day they are rotated to the next box.
Let me tell you, they’re slimy, bitter, and taste nothing like chocolate! Most people spit them right out. I gave mine two chews and sent it off into the trees.
After that, previously dried beans are baked to further remove any moisture. We tried these too, still no better.
These beans are then broken down using traditional tools made from volcanic rock. It was an interesting process to watch. The stones themselves are heated to aid the process. I felt the pestle, and it was hot enough that it would have burned my hand with continued use.
After the beans were pulverized, this is what’s known as pure cacao. We all tried it. Still sucks! But this was then used to make the original chocolate drink that was once enjoyed by the Mayan emperors.
If I had to describe the taste, I’d say it’s closest to unsweetened hot chocolate that was made with water. It was better than it sounds. I enjoyed it.
Fresh-made hot chocolate. The drink of the Gods.
A hands-on approach!
I already got to go hands-on by breaking open the pod and fending off a thieving squirrel, but now everyone gets to pitch in as the cacao and sugar are put into a modern grinder. A few cranks on that bad boy and bits of coarse dark chocolate started to fall into the bowl below.
Pure, but unsweetened, it tasted much better than the crunchy beans.
If you watched my Instagram story, then you already know that I was pretty enthusiastic.
Then throw in some heat, sugar, stir, and voila! Chocolate that is nothing like what you’d find in a store!
It was gritty and had the consistency of chewing tobacco but tasted just like dark chocolate.
For the rich, smooth, commercial-grade texture that everyone is accustomed to, it needs to be mixed in an industrial machine for a longer period of time. See? This tour is way more interactive than the button-pushing commercial one.
Luckily, that was on hand as well.
After heating some of that up, it was time to chow down.
Hand-made dark chocolate. Don’t worry, there’s only one more picture of my hand!
Snack time!
Now for what will no doubt be your favorite part!
On the table next to the chocolate is an assortment of about thirty toppings ranging from coconut shavings to tequila. After having fresh, melted chocolate drizzled on your spoon, you let your guide know which toppings you’d like to try and they get sprinkled on top.
The best part is you’re allowed to go back up as many times as you’d like so you’ll be able to experiment to your heart’s content.
If you’re not feeling very experimental, the guide does have recommendations as to which combinations work best.
I went back up at least twelve times. Probably not the best idea, seeing as I started getting a stomach ache, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do!
And More Chocolate!
As the tour winds down, it’s your chance to browse a fully stocked gift shop.
I love dark chocolate so I bought some 65%, 85%, and 95% cacao. I had never seen 95% for sale before, and I now know that was probably for a good reason. It was pretty rough. Gotta get those flavanols though so I still finished it!
Don’t know what flavanols are? You will learn all about them on the tour!
So what do you think? Do you love chocolate? What’s your favorite type? Let me know in the comments below! But regardless of if you’re team light or team dark, I would absolutely recommend taking a Costa Rica Chocolate Tour!
DID YOU ENJOY THIS ARTICLE? PIN IT!
