La Iguana Chocolate - San Jose

Amazing staff and do try their homemade lunch. Our guide was friendly, knowledgeable and made it great. Just note getting there is little hard at end as it is on dirt road but it is worth.

Call to schedule a visit beforehand. The family that owns and runs the farm were so kind and the hospitality was awesome. They made us delicious lunch before we toured the many specimens they farm. We also made our own chocolate and cacao drinks. Make sure to buy some chocolate and souvenirs at their little shop. I will go back for sure to visit again. Also be prepared for the ride their which is wild and bumpy.

My favorite experience in Costa Rica! Things to note: -Email ahead of time to schedule appointments, we emailed the day before. But, we came in the rainy season so not sure if they need more of a notice in the busier dry season -They take cash or card (USD or colones accepted) -Have 4x4 vehicle for the road -Leave 15 minutes earlier than the time says on Waze, road is not dangerous but if you aren’t used to driving in Costa Rica you will want to take it slow -Make sure you get the lunch as well, best food I had in Costa Rica! -Tours can be in Spanish or English, not sure about other languages but can email to ask. We did the tour in English and could understand everything very well! Reasons I loved this tour: (Don’t read if you want to be surprised) -We were the only ones of the tour (we went during a weekday during the rainy season) -Truly a family farm, 3 generations of cacao farming and the family all lives on the farm -We saw toucans and parrots on the farm -Farm is a food forest of different types of plants, fruits, and herbal medicines. -She explained and let us try different herbal medicinal plants when I told her I was interested in them and explained each one and the benefits -We got to try the raw cacao fruit, it was delicious!! -They grow all different types of fruits and also vanilla and cinnamon and she explained how it is harvested and pollinated and the whole process -She goes through all of the different steps to process the cacao into cacao nibs, then let us help grind it down to make the traditional drink and truffles -The chocolate doesn’t have palm oil or essential oil flavorings in them so they are natural and definitely pure in flavor (part of the reason we chose this specific chocolate tour) -The lunch was absolutely delicious and she asked in the beginning of the tour if we had any allergies or food concerns, so this would definitely be safe for someone to eat if they are vegetarian, vegan, or had specific allergies. Just let them know in the beginning when you check in. -You can buy the chocolate made there at the end of the tour, also had other souvenirs. -Very kind and great family. Would recommend this to anyone if you are looking to experience culture, nature, and learn!

We absolutely loved it, as a family of 6 it’s hard to find an activity that everyone enjoys but this visit was a great fit for everyone If you’re interested to see how chocolate is made soup to nuts, from getting the coca pods from the tree, opening the pod and trying the seeds, looking at the fermentation process, grinding the dried coca beans, making a chocolate drinks, tasting chocolate and a visiting to the farm, looking at different plants and herbs. You get a vegetarian lunch cooked from ingredients grown on the farm and is absolutely delicious (will change slightly depending on the time of year), and you get fresh chocolate milk and truffles too and finish off with a good coffee. I would say that it’s best to have a 4X4 to get there as the farm is in the middle of nowhere but the off road driving experience was a great fun by itself. Best to bring mosquito repellant as they are a very important part of the chocolate making process and needless to say everywhere.

We had an amazing day at the farm! The owner makes the whole experience very personal and shares all the details about the process of making chocolate. Together with her, we made our own truffels. The lunch was amazing as well, probably the best food we had in Costa Rica, as all vegetables are grown on the farm. The road to the farm is a bit tricky, and a 4x4 is advisable.