Coffee Tours

Costa Rican coffee is known for its excellent quality and robust flavor.  The Central Valley’s rich volcanic soil, tall mountains and cool temperatures provide the perfect environment for gourmet coffee production.  Coffee plantations throughout Costa Rica have opened their doors to the public to offer educational, interactive coffee tours.

Tours include a walk through the coffee fields where visitors learn about the history of coffee and how it grows from seed to mature fruiting plant.  Visitors are often permitted to pick coffee fruits for a few minutes during the harvest season. The processing mill where the coffee is removed from its husk is next, followed by the drying process and roasting mill.  Finally, the reward: a fresh cup of recently roasted coffee.

Doka Estate’s award winning Cafe Tres Generaciones is cultivated on the slopes of Poas Volcano. Visitors can learn the coffee production stages and sample this popular brand on a tour of the Doka Estate in Sabanilla de Alajuela.

Cafe Britt’s coffee plantation, Costa Rica’s largest producer of export-quality coffee, offers informative tours in the Central Valley. Located near Heredia one kilometer north of Barva, Cafe Britt produces several tasty varieties, including an organic, shade-grown coffee. Cafe Britt offers two coffee tours – the Classic Coffee Tour and the Coffee Lovers' Tour – which incorporate theater acting, humor and hard facts to produce an informative and enjoyable experience. Doka and Cafe Britt coffees can be purchased in Costa Rican grocery stores and ordered online.

Read our Travel Blogs:

Doka Estate Coffee Tour

Cafe Britt Coffee Tour

Monteverde Coffee Tour

History of Coffee in Costa Rica:

Coffee was first brought to Costa Rica in 1798. Plants and acreage were granted to all who were willing to grow crops for export, and coffee production quickly became a major industry, surpassing cacao and tobacco. In fact, Costa Rica was the first Central American country to establish coffee growing as an industry. The economic growth that coffee production brought enabled Costa Rica to develop ports, roads and other infrastructure necessary for continued expansion.

Today, coffee is a sustainable economic and agricultural product in Costa Rica. Coffee is the second largest commodity traded on the international market, second to petroleum.  There are two types produced commercially – Arabica and Robusta – but Costa Rica only produces Arabica, as mandated by executive order. In general, Arabica beans produce a sweeter, smoother cup of coffee.

Back to Top