Don Juan Coffee, Chocolate & Sugar Cane Tour

The tour starts with an introduction into the history of coffee in Costa Rica and its importance for the culture and the economy. The life cycle of the coffee plant will be examined, from seed to plant to fruit. 

After this introduction you will get to learn about the picking process, and the workers who immigrate to Monteverde for the picking season. The picking season is from November until February and visitors will be encouraged to help with the picking, if they are doing a tour in that time of year. 

You will also learn how the pulp was traditionally removed from the coffee cherries and how the cherries are washed an separated. If visitors do a tour in the dry season, they can see how the beans can naturally dry in the sun on the large patio. 

The warehouse stores the beans in big fiber sacks that allow the beans to breathe and therefore complete their aging process. The warehouse is also the place where the selection, roasting and packaging of the Don Juan coffee is done. 

At last you will be given the opportunity to ride in a typical ox cart, this is a nice way to experience the way of transportation of Costa Rica's past. After this you will get to taste the Don Juan coffee in the La Casona restaurant. 

After the coffee tour, it is time for the chocolate tour. You will visit a chocolate processing center, here you can participate in the chocolate-making process. You will see how the small cacao beans will be turned into chocolate. The traditional methods of roasting and grinding the beans will be showed and of course you can have a try at a range of chocolates.

The last part of this combination tour is to learn about the sugar cane in Costa Rica. You will learn from your guide how to extract the sugar from the cane in a traditional matter. This sweet tour will end with a sweet ending, you are able to drink a glass of pure sugar can juice.