For many non-morning people, coffee is a life-giving elixir. But have you ever wondered where your coffee came from? From quaint farms located in far-flung destinations, coffee beans are carefully harvested for your daily enjoyment.
With coffee tours, you can observe the entire process first-hand to get more in-depth, expert knowledge about coffee, from the farming process to insights on the global coffee industry. Plus, you’ll get to experience the local coffee culture and take part in tasting sessions.
So if you’re an avid globetrotter, here are some of the world’s best coffee tours that you should have on your list of places to visit.
Brazil
Coffee was introduced to Brazil through Suriname during the 17th century. The South American country proved to be perfectly suited for growing coffee, and farming quickly became a major industry. Today, Brazil is the largest coffee producer in the world, delivering over 7,844,000,000 pounds each year. The country produces a range of different coffees with each region having its own characteristics according to microclimate, soil type, and coffee bean variety.
Brazil is home to one of the world’s most expensive coffees, the Jacu Bird Coffee. Although this is considered one of the most delicious in the world, the way it’s made might not be everybody’s taste. The Jacu Bird, a common species in Brazil, loves eating the coffee beans, but (luckily for coffee lovers) can only partially digest them. Beans that have passed through the Jacu’s digestive system are harvested and then used to create these unique beans.
The region’s best coffee tours are in the south of the hilly and green Minas Gerais state. Casa Baldoni Coffee Farm, located in a popular coffee town called Santa Rita do Sapucai, offers guided tours of the Jacu Bird Coffee production line. You can watch the birds eating the beans and learn the traditional techniques for the best coffee.
Another tour option in Santa Rita do Sapucai, which is close to Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, is the Fazenda Delta, home of fast-growing brand DBlack Coffee. This family-owned plantation offers a half-day tour that takes you around the coffee plantations where you can watch the farming and harvesting processes. An expert will talk you through every stage of the picking and processing. To top it off, the tours culminate in a tasting session overlooking the terrain.
Colombia
Colombia has an ideal climate for growing coffee. Volcanic soil, elevation, and a lack of frost are the key ingredients in producing good coffee. The sheer size of Colombia provides natural variation in the type of coffee you will get. Different regions produce their own unique blends based on the type of soil and beans used to grow the coffee.
Farmers have opened small boutique shops and cafés serving some of the best blends. This profitable venture has had a notable benefit. It’s freed them from the drug trade. Many farmers could only find a profit growing coca and poppy to sell to the drug cartels before coffee.
The country also has its very own coffee theme park, Parque Nacional del Café. Free-thinking coffee plantation owners hit on a novel combination. The park consists of log flumes, roller coasters, and stalls that provide interesting coffee facts. When you find yourself fatigued by dry facts, hop on the rollercoaster to blow out the cobwebs. Once refreshed, you can return to learning about the history of coffee in Colombia.
Costa Rica
Costa Ricans have a special name for their coffee, the golden bean. Along with producing some of the finest coffee in the world, Costa Rica is also leading the way in other areas. Since 1989 it has been illegal to plant low-quality beans in Costa Rica. This means every coffee you buy from this country has a guarantee of quality. Costa Rica is a forward thinking and environmentally conscious country. All beans are handpicked and hand-produced.
There are excellent tours located close to San Jose, such as the Finca Rosa Blanca, a coffee plantation tour that’s becoming popular as a honeymoon destination. Set among the volcanoes, you get to experience the full process of growing organic coffee—starting with the seeds, all the way through to the drying and processing—while taking in the spectacular surroundings. You can also pick the coffee, taste the various gourmet blends, and even enjoy a spot of barista training.
El Salvador
El Salvador is a tiny nation producing a range of coffee that belies its size. Coffee only came to the country in the 1920s, but it fast became the country’s biggest export. For a long time, coffee plantations were owned by a very small wealthy elite. Their coffee wealth allowed them to gain political power. This, in turn, let them hold back democracy and kept locals apart from the coffee wealth.
This oppressive regime lasted for more than 50 years, but things eventually reached a breaking point. Civil wars tore through El Salvador between 1979 and 1992, and when the fighting was over, land was divided up in a much fairer way. Today, no single person can own more than 245 hectares. The vast majority of coffee comes from micro farms.
Coffee tours in El Salvador are affordable, and the profits go to the farm workers. Wages remain low for coffee pickers so coffee tours have become an important part of the farm’s revenue model.
Like the Juayúa tour, some tours, departing from San Salvador, will let you make your own coffee. They grant you full responsibility for every step of the process. It’s a long and painstaking day, but that only increases the satisfaction when you finally get to try your coffee. Other tours are more traditional, providing lunch and pastries in a relaxed setting.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the home of coffee, and of the original coffee plant, the Arabica. Fittingly, it is believed to be the home of the first coffee houses, called Kaveh Kanes. These served as the main meeting places in Ethiopian society.
Coffee grows everywhere in Ethiopia. It remains at the heart of much of the country’s culture and tradition. Coffee makes up around 30% of Ethiopia’s exports. Coffee tourism is on the way to being a major industry there. You’ll not only find coffee tours, but coffee treks.
Companies offer six days of travel between the various coffee plantations and local towns. Departing from Addis Ababa, you are guided through the region by an English-speaking coffee expert. The trek includes tours and tastings at all the region’s biggest farms.