Costa Rica is world-renowned for its delicious coffee, with some 1.5 million bags of the bean exported every year. If you love a cup of joe and want to find out more, schedule in a visit to one of the country’s fair trade and environmentally-conscious coffee farms. Here’s our pick of the best.
Finca Rosa Blanca
Finca Rosa Blanca is a coffee plantation and boutique hotel that is truly dedicated to producing the highest quality and most environmentally-friendly fair trade and organic coffee. The farm is certified organic and sustainable by The National Institute of Coffee in Costa Rica, The International BCS Oka, and by the Rainforest Alliance. You can take a coffee tour if you are staying at the hotel, or just come up for the day. The farm also produces a variety of other organic crops, such as mango, guava, limes, water apples, bananas, plantains, and oranges. This is a great tour if you are interested in organic and sustainable farming and coffee.
Bella Tica is situated up in the highest region of Monteverde. Bella Tica coffee is certified organic, sustainably produced, bird-friendly, and even packaged in recycled and biodegradable materials. This family-owned business is passionate about producing exquisite coffee that is not harmful to the environment or to consumers. They offer a 1.5-hour tour that includes a coffee tasting and a snack. This is a fantastic and tasty activity if you are up in the Monteverde area and want to learn all about sustainable and eco-friendly coffee production.
El Toledo is a coffee farm that produces incredible organic coffee in harmony with nature. They have been growing and producing coffee for the past twenty years, and during those two decades have acquired a wealth of information and new practices in order to make the best coffee without harming the planet. Though they have made a lot of changes over the years to ensure that their environmental impact is as low as possible, they have continued to produce high quality coffee. Take a tour at El Toledo and learn all about their innovative and eco-friendly coffee production in Atenas.
Naturalba is a Costa Rican coffee company outside of Turrialba, founded by a group of individuals from different nationalities passionate about growing and producing eco-friendly, sustainable, fair trade, and organic coffee. They have a long list of impressive certifications and projects that work to help local farmers and the community. Visitors can learn all about the history of coffee in Costa Rica, Naturalba’s dedication to the environment and local community, and how the company grows and makes their planet-friendly coffee.
Caribeans Chocolate and Coffeeis a small family owned business in Puerto Viejo dedicated to helping local farmers and indigenous tribes make a living that can actually support their families. Their sustainable ecological farming practices mean that they produce exceptional, organic, and fair trade coffee and chocolate. Widely reputed as one of the best coffee tours on the Caribbean coast, a visit here is informative, interesting, and incredibly delicious.
Visit the Gonzalez family at their organic coffee farm in La Fortuna and learn about the fascinating step-by-step processing of making coffee. Taking a tour at this small family farm is an opportunity to not only learn about coffee, but also about the culture, traditions, and daily life in Costa Rica. Visitors can also discover how coffee is traditionally brewed in Costa Rica and will have the opportunity to enjoy a fresh cup made this way.
The Diria Coffee Tour was founded in December of 2003 in an effort to share with visitors how fair trade and environmentally-friendly coffee is made. The tour is highly informative and sheds light on the local and international coffee trade, as well as the step-by-step process of producing coffee. A bonus of taking this tour is that at the end everyone gets to enjoy a mouth wateringly divine coffee ice cream treat.
During this two-hour tour visitors learn all about the history and production of coffee in Costa Rica at North Fields, a 100% organic coffee farm that also grows several other organic crops. This company is involved in every single step of their coffee production, outlined in detail during the tour. Visitors also learn about Costa Rican culture and traditions, and can enjoy a typical Costa Rican snack and freshly brewed coffee at the end.
