El Trapiche Tour, Monteverde

This is the fourth time in five years that we have attended the El Trapiche tour and it was very good. Anthony was our guide and he was not only very knowledgeable about the processes of making coffee, chocolate and sugar, but he was knowledgeable of the flora and fauna of the region. The tour is intimate and hands-on. The end of the tour is very special as you are treated to a homemade snack made with the Arrecache root, potatoes and beef (or vegetarian, if you prefer). I strongly recommend this tour if you are interested. They have English and Spanish speaking guides and the tour is about 1 kilometer long with some elevation change. We spent almost three hours there but the tour itself was about two hours long.

We expected this tour to be enjoyable and informative, and it delivered beyond our hopes. So much fun! So well done! We had a fantastic time, learned so much about some of our favorite foods, and enjoyed every minute! It was a highlight of our stay in. Monteverde. First and foremost this is a family-run enterprise, and that pride and intimacy run through everything. Diego who showed us round is the owners’ son and his passion and knowledge are a delight. It’s a beautiful location to tour, with sweeping views and verdant coffee plantings, and we saw close up the traditional production of all three crops. We even got to make our own sugar-molasses candy! Much thought and care has gone into presenting this tour. Buildings are decorated with fun murals featuring indigenous farmers and historic scenes. The details of how these treasured tastes get from the field to our cup are well explained and fascinating. We were encouraged to smell and taste all the way through, finishing with a final delicious tasting of coffee and a savory specialty dish grown in their garden and cooked for us by Diego’s mom. Anyone who likes coffee and chocolate will be entertained, educated and delighted by this experience. Oh, and the gift shop offered their delicious products at very fair prices - we have been drinking the superior Trapiche coffee ever since we left and I am only sorry we didn’t buy way more than the five bags we came away with!

We loved our tour! We learned a lot of interesting information and the guide was very knowledgeable. All of the samples we tried we incredible. Needless to say, half of our luggage is now filled with coffee and chocolate that we’re bringing home from this place. We also appreciated that they offered transportation for only $5. Thanks for a great experience!

Such an informative and enjoyable tour. The website was user friendly as we requested the tour the night before. The next morning I was contacted via email & WhatsApp with confirmation. Tony was intelligent, funny and taught us so much about the intricate coffee, chocolate/cocoa, and sugarcane processes. I have gained a new appreciation for coffee and think about it every time I take a sip in the morning. Well worth a visit!! Thanks guys!!

Good tour but very spectacular. I suppose to see some real small factory, but its look like staged performance. In the end on degustation gave to us a cup of coffe, lemonade, candy chocolate but I’d like to try different sorts of coffee, different roasted coffee and some cacao/hot chocolates, traditional coffee and cacao drinks. Better for me its to use its hour of time to come to lake to Arenal.