Central America Travel: Sights from a Family Run Organic Chocolate Farm in Alajuela Provence, Costa Rica
engagedabroad
Reading Time: 5minutes
In this post we share our time at Tree Chocolate, a family owned and operated chocolate farm in Upala, Alajuela Provence, Costa Rica, which is located near the slopes of the Tenorio Volcano and within driving distance from Liberia and the Papagayo Peninsula.
During their time on the farm, visitors learn about each step of the chocolate-making process from planting to the final Chocolate Tsuru or Yok, a 100% handmade chocolate.
The history of chocolate spans thousands of years across cultures throughout the world. It is believed that cacao originated in the Amazon Orinoco Basin more than 4,000 years ago. From its early origins in Mesoamerica, to its refinement in Europe throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, to present day West Africa leading the world’s cocoa supply, chocolate has left its mark on the world food scene.
Chocolate in Mesoamerica
Mayans: Cocoa served as a sacred food, sign of prestige, social centerpiece, and cultural touchstone
Throughout Mesoamerica cacao drinks became associated with high status and special occasions (Smithsonian, 2022)
Aztec: cacao beans were considered more valuable than gold (History.com, 2022)
Chocolate in Europe
1500s: Spanish royalty enjoyed chocolate, thought to have been brought to the country from Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes (there are conflicting reports about the exact time when cocoa landed in Spain)
1847: British chocolatiers created the first chocolate bar
1876: Swiss chocolatiers added dried milk powder to chocolate to create milk chocolate; work with Nestle to bring chocolate to the mass market
Chocolate in American Colonies
1641: Spanish ship brings cocoa to Florida
1682: First chocolate house opened in Boston
By 1773, cocoa beans were a major American colony import and chocolate was enjoyed by people of all classes
Chocolate in Africa
Late 1800s: cacao was introduced to the continent of Africa
Present day: around 70% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa, namely Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
A Visit to Tree Chocolate Farm
Garden Tour
The tour begins with a walkthrough of a garden and features different kinds of medicinal, ornamental and aromatic plants.
Cocoa Farm
Visitors next enter the cocoa plantation. The guide overviews:
Cocoa plantings
Different varieties of cocoa
Grafting process
The difference between male and female pollinators
Tree growth and development
Anatomy of a cocoa pod
How to harvest cocoa
Harvesting cocoa & cocoa processing
The word “cacao” is used in reference to the plant and its beans. The tree grows throughout the world and thrives in areas situated within twenty degrees north or south of the Equator.
The word “chocolate” is used when referring to products that derive from the fruit of cacao trees. The fruits are called pods and each pod contains around 40 cacao beans. The beans are dried and roasted to create cocoa beans.
Chocolate Making Process
To end the tour, return to the entry area to learn about the process to ferment, dry, roast, shell, and ground tumble with sugar.
Tree Chocolate uses a meat mincer as a grinding machine to process the cocoa seed into a paste
From the paste, artisans add in cocoa butter, sugar and milk to create chocolate – different ratios change how the chocolate tastes
How chocolate is packed and sold in its different presentations, bar, cocoa butter and powder
Coe, Sophia D and Michael D. Coe. The True History of Chocolate: Second Edition. Thames & Hudson: New York, 2007.
Vail, Gabrielle. Cacao Use in Yucatán Among the Pre-Hispanic Maya. Chocolate: History, Culture and Heritage. Eds. Louise Evan Grivetti and Howard-Yana Shapiro. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.: Hoboken, 2009.
