Two-Week Cacao & Chocolate Apprenticeships
Join a small-group apprenticeship at a working bean-to-bar chocolate house. Learn through hands-on practice, farm visits, chocolate making, tastings, and daily life with cacao.
Most people encounter cacao as a finished product—a chocolate bar, a hot drink, or a dessert. Our apprenticeships begin much earlier. They begin with the tree, the people who cultivate her, and the countless decisions that transform fresh cacao into chocolate.
Over two immersive weeks, you'll step inside a working chocolate house where learning happens through participation. You'll ask questions, work with your hands, visit farms, taste thoughtfully, and discover that understanding cacao is about far more than following recipes. Whether you're here to master the craft of bean-to-bar chocolate or to explore cacao through scientific, historical, culinary, ecological, and mythic lenses, you'll leave with a deeper relationship to one of the world's most extraordinary plants.
What a typical apprenticeship looks like:
Mornings might begin opening fresh cacao pods or evaluating a roast. Another day may take you to a nearby cacao farm to walk beneath the canopy and speak with growers. Back at the workshop you'll roast, crack, winnow, refine, temper, taste, and ask questions as they arise naturally through the work.
No two days are identical because no two batches of chocolate—or two harvests of cacao—are ever exactly the same. Because cacao follows the rhythms of nature, each apprenticeship is slightly different. Seasonal changes, harvests, and chocolate production shape what we'll be working on together..
Throughout the apprenticeship you'll work in a small group, allowing plenty of time for conversation, individual guidance, and reflection. There is structure, but also room for curiosity. Some of the most valuable lessons happen around the tasting table, while cleaning equipment after a production run, or during a discussion sparked by something unexpected.
By the end of two weeks, you won't simply have completed a course. You'll have experienced the rhythm of a working chocolate house and gained the confidence to continue your own journey with cacao.
Learn with Ancel
For nearly two decades, Ancel has worked with cacao on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast—making chocolate, visiting farms, studying fermentation, and sharing her knowledge with thousands of visitors from around the world.
This apprenticeship reflects years of lived experience rather than a fixed curriculum. You'll work alongside Ancel in a functioning bean-to-bar chocolate house, learning not only techniques, but also the careful observation, curiosity, and craftsmanship that great chocolate demands.
Choose your Apprenticeship:
Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Apprenticeship
Master the craft of making chocolate from tree to bar.
Work alongside experienced chocolate makers as you learn fermentation, roasting, refining, tempering, sensory evaluation, sourcing, and chocolate confections in a functioning bean-to-bar workshop.
→ Explore the Chocolate Apprenticeship
Cacao Apprenticeship
Explore cacao through practice, story, ecology, and daily life.
Daily sits with the cacao trees, creative expression or journaling, slipping into the stories and traditional practices of cacao. Working with fermentation and medicinal plant use with the cacao and the deeper significance of cacao as community and sacred space holder. Whilst understanding the science and nature of cacao and chocolate with making traditional cacao drinks and modern chocolate bars.
→ Explore the Cacao Apprenticeship
Included in Every Apprenticeship:
Learn
Bean-to-bar chocolate making
Chocolate confections
Chocolate tasting & sensory evaluation
Ethical sourcing
Experience
Farm visits
Working chocolate house
Small groups
Daily production
Time with the trees
Receive
A kilo of your own handmade chocolate or ceremonial cacao
Individual guidance
Twelve apprenticeship days
A deeper relationship with cacao
At a Glance
Location
Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Duration
Two weeks (12 apprenticeship days)
Group Size
Maximum 4 apprentices
Dates
Offered several times throughout the year
Language
English
Accommodation
Not included. Recommendations provided.
Investment
US$750
Booking
A 20% non-refundable deposit is required to reserve your place. The remaining balance is due prior to the apprenticeship.
Is This For You?
This apprenticeship is ideal for:
Aspiring chocolate makers
Chefs and food professionals
Café owners
Those with a dedicated cacao practice
Ceremonialists who want deeper connection with cacao herself
Educators
Curious travellers
Artists and creatives
Anyone fascinated by cacao
No previous experience is required.
What matters most is curiosity, patience, and a willingness to learn through practice.
Why Learn at Cacao Huasi?
Cacao Huasi is a small working tree to bar chocolate house on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. For nearly two decades we've explored cacao through growing, making, tasting, teaching, and continual curiosity and learning. Our apprenticeships are built on lived experience rather than fixed recipes, offering a rare opportunity to learn alongside people who work with cacao every day.
FAQ:
Do I need experience?
No, whether you already make chocolate or serve cacao, or simply enjoy it, this apprenticeship will provide new connections, understandings and learnings.
What language is it taught in?
English
Where should I stay?
The Puerto Viejo area has many accommodations, from hostels through private rentals to hotels. We can make recommendations.
What should I bring?
Curiosity, notebook, pens or art supplies. We are in the lowland humid tropics and will provide a list of suitable clothing and toiletries etc.,
Is transportation included?
No. The only transportation provided is for the farm field trips.
Can dietary needs be accommodated?
We don’t provide food during the apprenticeships. All of our chocolate is vegan and naturally gluten free. We do work with peanuts at Cacao Huasi.
Ready to Begin?
Whether you're drawn to the craft of chocolate making or the wider world of cacao, we'd love to welcome you to Cacao Huasi. Explore the apprenticeship that speaks to you and begin your journey with cacao. Applications are reviewed personally to ensure the apprenticeship is a good fit for both you and Cacao Huasi.