Mindo Chocolate Tour

Summary: Really enjoyed this tour! I had done a tour in Quito 2 years ago, but this was better. Got to actually see cacao trees and coffee trees and from tree to finished product. Such a process and rather labor intensive. This is a small batch operation. I took of a star, because they have not updated their hours and we showed up at 9:30am (Google hours state that they open at 8am). After touring yesterday and having a fabulous coffee there, we went back to have another today before leaving town and they were not open. :(

Summary: A really interesting and informative tour around the beautiful El Quetzal chocolate factory. Our guide George was really friendly and interesting and was able to answer all our questions about the chocolate process and more generally about Mindo and the local nature. The tour concludes with absolutely loads of samples, all of which are really delicious. Really recommended!

Summary: I discovered very interesting things, it's not very long and something I liked very much is that in the end you get to try chocolate and a delicious brownie. I would lower the cost a bit, because USD 10 is a big deal for the domestic tourist. I would just add that in the end you could make yourself the chocolate, that would make it perfect!

Summary: I went to this factory as part of a private tour to Mindo. The guide was very informative. The best part was the mixing of the chocolate at the end and the lunch!

Summary: This tour was great. They guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. He explained their process of taking chocolate from the pod to the bar. You got try suck on a bean from a pod, try 100% pure chocolate sauce, then that mixed with sugar, then mixed with ground coffee and sugar. There were also many chocolate samples of the different types of dark chocolate they sell. yiu also get a delicious brownie at the end and tea made from the cocoa shells.

Summary: I have been on chocolate tours before, including a small batch bean to bar place and a short tour in the Amazon, and I still learned A LOT about the process on this tour. I think even if all of it was repeat information I would have had a great time. Our guide was enthusiastic and very thorough with each explanation. The garden where they grow food for the restaurant (and example cacao) was a beautiful bonus to learn a little about, and we saw an agouti! You get to try a lot of chocolate on the tour, and the only reason that you would not enjoy this immensely is if you do not like dark chocolate. This is very pure chocolate. Bring extra money (or your credit card, which they accept) to bring home some of their amazing sauce, chocolate bars, and other products. We also had dinner at the restaurant. You can order food ahead and they will have it ready when you get back, which is just perfect. While the food was “expensive” for Ecuador, it is of incredible quality and a bargain considering. The macadamia chicken was delicious, and I recommend, but do be aware there is a lot of chocolate involved. I had also pre ordered a hot chocolate and that was a bit rich with the meal I chose. Still, no complaints! A lovely evening.

Summary: Great to learn from our guide about how cacao is grown, produced, and turned into chocolate. Included tasting unripe cacao, and various types of chocolate. Wish I had more room in my luggage.

Summary: Our family of five had a great experience with George, our guide. We learned a lot about chocolate (or learned how little we knew about chocolate). He made it a fun and memorable experience and teh chocolate itself was delicious! Highly recommended!

Summary: Fun thing to do for a mild afternoon when you are tired. Informative and interesting with a great treat afterwards. A little high priced, but that is all relative. Excellent chocolate though. You need to buy a few bars before you leave. We meant to but forgot.

Summary: Great place with a beautifull restaurant and great food, the breakfasts are delicious with homemade breads and granolas! Great terasse, The chocolate tour is very interesting with all the explanations of the stepsfor making chocolate with tasting. The staff is very friendly. Great place in Mindo!