Mindo Coffee and Cacao Tasting from Quito: Learn Chocolate Making

Taste specialty coffee and craft chocolate, from bean to cup in the cloud forest

An eight to ten-hour activity from Quito that takes you through three hands-on tastings in Ecuador's cloud forest: hummingbirds at a viewpoint, specialty coffee on a family plantation, and chocolate making in Mindo's cacao workshop. A guide leads the whole day, hotel pickup and lunch are included, and you taste what you learn at each stop.

Step-by-step itinerary

Coffee and cacao tasting in Mindo

• Pickup from downtown Quito
• Stop at hummingbird viewpoint
• Visit family-owned coffee plantation
• Learn coffee making and tasting
• Visit cacao workshop in Mindo
• Learn chocolate making process
• Taste artisanal and pure chocolate

The experience

Eight to ten hours means you start early from downtown Quito and move through three separate experiences, each one built around tasting something you've just learned to make or understand. The guide picks you up at your hotel, and the first stop is a hummingbird viewpoint in the cloud forest where you watch the birds while drinking fresh organic juice. From there you head to a family-owned coffee plantation to learn how specialty coffee moves from cherry bean to cup, then taste an awarded roast in the family house.

Mindo sits deeper in the cloud forest, and that's where the cacao workshop happens. You walk through how chocolate farmers transform raw cacao beans into finished chocolate, and the guide explains the whole process. Then comes the tasting: different kinds of artisanal chocolate from the farm, including their 100% pure chocolate. Lunch is included during the day, and the guide speaks English throughout.

Private transportation with hotel pickup and drop-off in downtown Quito is part of the booking, so you don't arrange your own way to the cloud forest. The activity suits all fitness levels and works for families with small children.

What’s included

• English-speaking guide for the full day.
• private transportation with hotel pickup and drop-off in downtown Quito.
• coffee plantation farm visit and tasting.
• cacao workshop visit and chocolate tasting.
• lunch.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 07:00 and 07:30

Book up to1d before

AgesAdult (13 and older) · Child (3 to 12 years) · Infant (under 3)

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish and Spanish

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated 7 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Takiri Travel

Is this one for you?Book this if you want hands-on tastings at each stop (tasting coffee you've just learned about, then making chocolate from cacao beans) rather than watching demonstrations, all guided in one full day through the cloud forest.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English and Spanish.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 12 years); Infant (under 3).

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What exactly do you do at the cacao workshop in Mindo?

The cacao workshop teaches you how chocolate farmers take raw cacao beans and transform them into finished chocolate, step by step. You taste several kinds of artisanal chocolate made on the farm during the tasting, including their 100% pure chocolate.

How does the coffee tasting work on the plantation?

The family-owned coffee plantation walks you through the whole process from cherry bean to hot cup, then you taste their awarded specialty coffee in the family house.

What's included in the eight to ten hours?

Hotel pickup and drop-off in downtown Quito, private transportation the whole day, an English-speaking guide, lunch, the hummingbird viewpoint stop with organic juice, the coffee plantation visit and tasting, and the cacao workshop visit and chocolate tasting.

Do you need to be fit or experienced to do this activity?

The activity suits all physical fitness levels. Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller, and service animals are allowed.