Costa Rica is famous for its volcanos, beaches, and biodiversity. Its rich volcanic soil, warm temperatures, steady rainfall, high altitudes, and tropical climate produce superior coffee beans with delicate aromas and flavors.
We visited a traditional Costa Rican coffee farm in Monteverde through Gate 1 Travel. It is a family-owned farm growing, harvesting, and roasting the best quality coffee in Monteverde.
The tour included lunch and had rice, beans, salad, plantain, and chicken, everything grown locally on the farm. They also served locally grown coffee after lunch. Drinks and dessert were also included.
After lunch, we visited the farm and saw all the farm animals, including goats and chickens. It was nice to feed the goats and pet them.
The baby goats were cute and playful.
They also have fruit trees and organic vegetable gardens, including lettuce, cucumber, carrots, coriander, and more. The guide showed us around the whole farm and let us try locally grown bananas and lemons.
The guide explained the process of farming, harvesting, processing, and roasting. He also explains the Monteverde weather and why coffee produced at higher elevations is the best. He also describes the challenges related to diseases and how they use organic fertilizers to eliminate bugs. He also showed us the fertilizers they use, which are natural and made on the farm. They also make compost from farm waste naturally and use it as fertilizer.
The coffee beans are hand-picked in December and January when they ripen and turn red. We visited in September; they were all green at that time.
He also explains how they grow coffee plants from seed and plant them in the field when they are big enough. They had multiple varieties of coffee plants.
The guide showed different varieties of beans, including honey processing when not washed and the sticky and sweet layer remaining on the bean. Another one is washed and dried before roasting. They had different roast levels, including light, medium, and dark.
Ultimately, we tasted all different kinds of coffee, and the guide asked us to guess which one it was. It was fun to know the whole process and taste the coffee. They also served coffee-flavored chocolate at the end.
They also had a gift shop where you could buy all varieties of coffee. In addition to coffee, there were also t-shirts, mugs, bags, and other souvenirs for purchase.
We learn about how one of Costa Rica’s top exports is grown in this tropical region and its importance in its socioeconomic development. There are a lot of coffee plantation tours in the area, and it was perfect to know the whole process and visit the local farm. Click here to learn more about the coffee plantation tour. We visited as part of our guided tour through Gate 1 Travel. You can also visit on your own; it is located closer to the cloud forest in Monteverde.