Just fifteen minutes from our Turrialba location, and on the way to the Pacuare River is Nortico Cacao Farm, a sustainable family farm located in Pavones. The name Nortico is a blend of the two owners’ heritages, Ann-Elin and Aldo, the husband-wife duo who founded the farm in 2016. Ann-Elin is from Norway and Aldo is from Costa Rica. With the phrase “Tico” meaning native Costa Rican, blended with Norway you get Nortico.
On custom itineraries or student trips, we often book a morning tour at Nortico before we push off to the Pacuare River and start our rafting adventure. These tours are informative and hands-on. You’ll learn about Nortico’s ethos of sustainable and fair-trade farming and you’ll see firsthand the process of growing cacao, harvesting it, and turning it into chocolate.
For those interested in stopping at Nortico for an amazing tour of their cacao property, simply send us a message and we can build out a custom trip itinerary for you.
What their tours are like
Nortico is located in the community of Pavones. Approximately 15 minutes from Turrialba and 20 minutes from the Pacuare River. Their tours are available by appointment only which if you are scheduling a trip with us, we can arrange easily.
You’ll start the tour with their staff (likely Aldo, one of the founders) explaining the origin of the farm, who they work with, and their vision for the future. Of course, being a cacao and chocolate tour, you’ll learn about their chocolates and taste them too ๐
After that you’ll do a property tour where you’ll learn about growing cacao, how they harvest and process it. Finally, you’ll loop back into the tasting room and you’ll take roasted cacao, and you’ll first grind it, and then get to add in different flavors to make your very own chocolate. The video below is of a tour done in December, 2023.