When you travel to Costa Rica, you expect tropical landscapes, wildlife, and unforgettable food. But few experiences capture the country’s culture and flavor like a hands-on chocolate experience. Whether you’re a passionate foodie, a family looking for an interactive day out, or a traveler wanting to taste something authentic, a chocolate class is one of the best ways to connect with local tradition.
At Blue Valley Chocolate, visitors can choose from three immersive chocolate experiences, each designed to help you explore cacao in a different way:
🌱Discovering Chocolate
🍫Chocolate-Making Class (Bean to Bar)
🍬Bon Bon-Making Class
All three invite you to discover the journey from cacao to chocolate, but each offers a unique level of depth, creativity, and indulgence. So which one is right for you? Let’s explore.
Discovering Chocolate: The Perfect Introduction
If you’re curious about where chocolate comes from and want an engaging, educational experience, our Discovering Chocolate (our chocolate master class) is the ideal starting point.
What to Expect
This 1-hour session introduces you to cacao and its remarkable journey from fruit to finished chocolate. You’ll explore every stage of the process. From harvesting and fermentation to grinding and tempering. While learning about cacao’s health benefits and nutritional properties.
To finish, you’ll learn how to professionally taste chocolate and participate in a guided blind tasting of a variety of chocolates.
What You’ll Experience:
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Introduction to cacao and the chocolate-making process
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Tasting of fresh cacao fruit and roasted beans
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Discussion of cacao’s nutritional value and health benefits
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Professional chocolate tasting and blind flavor test
Location: Blue Valley Chocolate Factory, Playa Brasilito
Duration: 1 hour
This experience is perfect for families, travelers, and first-time visitors who want to understand chocolate’s origins in a fun, flavorful way.
Chocolate-Making Class (Bean to Bar): Crafting Chocolate from Scratch
For those who want to roll up their sleeves and dive deeper into the chocolate-making process, the Bean to Bar Class is a true hands-on adventure.
What to Expect
In this 2-hour experience, you’ll start with roasted cacao beans and transform them into smooth, delicious chocolate. Guided by our chocolate artisans, you’ll roast, grind, and winnow cacao, then learn to temper and mold your own bars to take home.
You’ll see and feel each stage of chocolate’s transformation. From rustic cacao bean to silky bar, while gaining insight into the art, science, and care that go into every piece.
What You’ll Experience:
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Roast, grind, and winnow cacao beans
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Learn tempering and molding techniques
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Customize and pour your own chocolate bars
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Understand the full journey of cacao from root to bar
Location: Blue Valley Chocolate Factory, Playa Brasilito
Duration: 2 hours
Perfect for chocolate lovers, culinary explorers, and creative travelers who want to experience chocolate workshops as both art and science.
Bon Bon-Making Class: The Sweetest Creative Experience
If you love the artistic side of chocolate workshops, the Bon Bon-Making Class is a colorful and delicious experience that lets your creativity shine.
What to Expect
In this 2-hour class, you’ll learn the techniques behind filled chocolates. From tempering and shelling to flavor creation and decoration. Our artisans will guide you through the process of making your own handcrafted bon bons, using locally inspired fillings such as tropical fruits and Costa Rican spices.
You’ll leave with a box of your own creations, beautifully made and ready to share (or not!).
What You’ll Experience:
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Learn how to temper chocolate for glossy shells
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Create and flavor fillings using natural ingredient
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Mold, fill, and decorate your own bon bons
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Take home your handmade creations
Location: Blue Valley Chocolate Factory, Playa Brasilito
Duration: 2 hours
This class is perfect for couples, groups, and anyone with a creative sweet tooth who wants to learn the fine art of chocolate craftsmanship and chocolate tasting.
Which Experience Should You Choose?
Each class offers a different way to connect with Costa Rican cacao. Here’s a quick guide to help you pick your perfect match:
|
Experience Type |
Duration |
Focus |
Perfect For |
|
Discovering Chocolate |
1 hour |
Introduction to cacao and tasting |
Families, curious travelers, first-time visitors |
|
Chocolate-Making Class (Bean to Bar) |
2 hours |
Hands-on bean-to-bar crafting |
Enthusiasts, culinary explorers, chocolate lovers |
|
Bon Bon-Making Class |
2 hours |
Creative chocolate artistry |
Couples, groups, artistic foodies |
If you’re visiting with kids or want an educational introduction, start with Discovering Chocolate.
If you’re ready to craft your own bars from scratch, the Bean to Bar Class is your match.
And if you love artistic detail and flavor creativity, go for the Bon Bon-Making Class.
Why Costa Rica Is the Ideal Place for a Chocolate Experience
Costa Rica’s lush ecosystems create the perfect environment for cacao cultivation. The country’s small-scale farms, focus on organic agriculture, and passion for sustainability make it a natural home for artisan chocolate.
At Blue Valley Chocolate, our cacao comes from Upala. Where fertile volcanic soil and rainforest biodiversity produce some of the world’s most flavorful beans. Every experience connects you not only with taste but with the land and people behind it.
When you join a class, you become part of the journey. From the farm to the factory, from cacao pod to chocolate masterpiece.
The Final Taste
No matter which experience you choose, you’ll walk away with a deeper appreciation for chocolate. Not just as a treat, but as a craft rooted in nature and tradition.
Join us at Blue Valley Chocolate in Brasilito and discover Costa Rica’s sweetest experience for yourself.
👉 Book your chocolate experience today: https://bluevalleychocolate.com/pages/educational-workshop
