Have you visited a coffee estate?

#1: Post by **jpetrow** » November 27th, 2016, 3:36 pm

Long time lurker and a first post, so a collective hello to everybody from Finland

It seems the coffee travel industry is years behind the well established wine travel industry. And probably for that reason information is quite scarce.

We had an idea with my gf to take a holiday trip to maybe Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico and the likes and at the same time maybe visit some coffee estates. All we could find was some random organized group trips to bulk coffee estates. But we'd prefer places where they produce quality beans to learn about the process and maybe source sone for home roasting.

So the question is, has anyone done this? Any tips? Is it best to just contact the estates directly? Is there someone who organizes the like the coffee sourcing companies? Is it even possible to organise something like this from abroad or do you need local contact?

Cheers,
JP

#2: Post by **Alan Frew** » November 27th, 2016, 3:54 pm

Try www.scaa.org. The SCAA and the Roasters Guild periodically organize trips to origin. Note that few coffee farms are set up with the type of cellar door facilities you see at wineries, the people growing the coffee are agriculturists first and foremost and quite often don't even consume their own products.

Alan

#3: Post by **TomC** » November 27th, 2016, 5:01 pm

I'll second Alan's recommendation. The SCAA groups focus on high quality farms that have a strong focus on education, quality improvement, processing, etc. I've been to about a half dozen coffee producing countries on vacation, looking for good farms, but most of the ones that are largely known to travel agents and simple web searches are likely the farms that are producing for the second wave coffee industry (Starbucks).

#4: Post by **yakster** » November 27th, 2016, 5:21 pm

I don't know if they've officially opened to the public, but La Palma & El Tucan is a quality focused coffee producer in Colombia that plans on opening cabins, I'd reach out to them.

They've done interesting experiments in fermentation and they would be on my short list of places to visit.

November 28th, 2016, 11:00 am

Great advice, thank you!

SCAA and SCAE organized trips look promising although a bit heavy on the agenda for a holiday trip. But those are now definitely on our short list.

I'll be contacting La Palma & El Tucan. They seem like a really intresting option and I hope they'll be open for visitors early next year.

#6: Post by **Boldjava** » November 28th, 2016, 11:41 am

Been to Cafe Ruiz in Boquete. Suggest Panama as part of your trips. Boquete is a wonderful, "easy" visit compared to Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. We have done much of Mexico and Central America (minus El Salvador) on the back of chicken buses. Panama is the easiest by far.

Dave

http://www.caferuiz-boquete.com/

#7: Post by **nuketopia** » November 28th, 2016, 9:01 pm

I've visited several in the Hawaiian islands. Kauai and the Island of Hawaii. Hula Daddy on the big island is highly recommended.

#8: Post by **Bob_M** » November 28th, 2016, 9:25 pm

I have been to one in Nicaragua at Cerro de Jesus, and one whose name escapes me in Costa Rica.

#9: Post by **RioCruz** » November 29th, 2016, 5:08 pm

Perhaps Sweet Maria's could give you some direction. They specialize in small estate-grown coffees and are exceptionally well-connected in Latin America...as well as other places in the world: info@sweetmarias.com

#10: Post by **arcus** » November 29th, 2016, 7:33 pm

I went to Don Juan Coffee in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Seeing the beans drying in the sun was pretty cool and my kids enjoyed the chocolate