A Local's Guide to the Best Things to Do in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Planning a trip to Puerto Viejo? Explore the best beaches, wildlife experiences, rainforest hikes, kayaking, snorkeling, chocolate making, Indigenous culture, and hidden gems with our local guide to Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.
Why People Are Trying to Replace Cacao
Around the world, food companies are searching for alternatives to cacao as climate change, disease, and rising prices reshape the chocolate industry. But beyond the headlines lies a more interesting question: if chocolate flavour can be recreated, what makes cacao truly special? This article explores the industry's search for cocoa alternatives—and why the story of real cacao is about far more than flavour.
How to Taste Chocolate Like a Chocolate Maker
Good chocolate deserves a little time. Learn the simple tasting techniques chocolate makers use to discover more aroma, flavour, and texture in every bite.
Open a Cacao Pod
Most people know chocolate, but very few have opened a cacao pod. Discover the fruit, the fermentation, and the remarkable journey from tree to chocolate.
Why Doesn't Chocolate Taste Like Cacao Fruit?
Fresh cacao fruit tastes of pineapple, lychee and tropical flowers, while chocolate tastes rich and familiar. Why are they so different? The answer reveals the remarkable relationship between trees, microorganisms and people.
Did You Know Chocolate Has Wild Cousins?
Most people think of cacao as a single plant. But chocolate is only one member of a remarkable family of tropical trees known as Theobroma. Discover pataxte, cupuaçu and the wild cousins that reveal a richer story of cacao.
Why Does Chocolate Taste Different Around the World?
Why do some chocolates taste fruity while others are nutty, floral or earthy? Discover how cacao varieties, climate, fermentation and maker decisions shape the flavors we experience in chocolate.
What Does Cacao Fruit Taste Like?
Many people are surprised to learn that chocolate begins inside a fruit. Sweet, floral and unexpectedly tropical, fresh cacao tastes nothing like chocolate. Discover the flavors hidden inside the cacao pod and how they shape the chocolate we know today.
A Chocolate Lover’s Guide to Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Most people come to Puerto Viejo for the beaches. Chocolate lovers soon discover something else: a thriving cacao culture woven into the landscape. From fresh cacao fruit and tree-to-bar makers to fermentation, tastings, and hands-on chocolate experiences, here's your guide to exploring the cacao side of Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.
7 Unique Food and Chocolate Experiences in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
Looking for something beyond the beach? Explore seven memorable food and chocolate experiences in Puerto Viejo, including bean-to-bar chocolate making, cacao tastings, creative workshops, Caribbean cuisine, live music, and unforgettable sunsets.
What is Ceremonial Cacao?
Ceremonial cacao can sound mysterious at first, but at its heart she is something wonderfully simple: real cacao prepared as a drink and enjoyed with a little more attention. Whether you drink her as part of a morning ritual, a creative practice, or simply because you love the taste, ceremonial cacao offers a gentle invitation to slow down and reconnect with yourself.
Can Chocolate Exist Without Cacao?
Can chocolate exist without cacao? As cocoa-free chocolate alternatives begin appearing around the world, it's a question more people are asking. While science can recreate some of the flavors we associate with chocolate, cacao is more than a collection of flavor compounds. It's a fruit, a tradition, a livelihood, and one of the most diverse ingredients in the food world. Let's explore what makes chocolate taste like chocolate—and what makes real cacao impossible to fully replace.
How to Taste Chocolate
Fine chocolate has more in common with wine, coffee, and tea than many people realize. Learn how to slow down, pay attention, and discover the aromas, textures, and flavors that reveal where a chocolate came from and how it was made.
What Happens During Cacao fermentation?
Fermentation is one of the most important—and least understood—steps in chocolate making. Discover how microbes, time, and careful handling help transform fresh cacao into the rich and complex flavors we find in fine chocolate.
What’s The Difference Between Cacao and Cocoa?
Cacao and cocoa both come from the same tree, yet the two words are often used in different ways. Learn where the distinction comes from, why it can be confusing, and what really matters when it comes to chocolate.
What Does Ceremonial Cacao Taste Like?
Ceremonial cacao is often rich, complex, and deeply chocolatey, with notes that can range from earthy and nutty to fruity, floral, honeyed, or gently spiced. Discover what shapes the flavor of cacao and how to taste her with curiosity and attention.
How Chocolate Is Made: From Tree to Bar
Every chocolate bar begins as a tropical fruit. Discover the fascinating journey from cacao pod to finished chocolate and learn how fermentation, drying, roasting, and chocolate making shape flavor.
The Flavor Wheel: Learning to Taste Chocolate
Chocolate can taste like much more than chocolate. From tropical fruit and honey to flowers, nuts, and spices, a flavor wheel helps us slow down, taste more deeply, and discover the stories hidden inside every bar.
A gentle approach to ceremonial cacao
A warm cup of cacao can be a small act of care in a world that asks us to move too quickly. This gentle approach to ceremonial cacao is less about rules and more about slowing down, breathing deeply, and giving yourself a quiet moment to reconnect — with your body, your senses, and the simple comfort of real cacao.
What is tree to bar chocolate?
Deep in the lush forests of Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, cacao grows directly from the trunk of the tree — a living reminder that chocolate begins as a vibrant tropical fruit long before it becomes a bar. Tree-to-bar chocolate starts here: close to the land, the farmers, and the cacao itself.