The Best Chocolate Cafés in Costa Rica

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA | © Jeffrey Davis / flickr
Jenn Parker

Costa Rica is quite famous for its chocolate. There are dozens of different chocolate tours you can take in the Central Valley and Caribbean regions of the country to learn about the fascinating process of making chocolate from cacao. There are also multiple chocolate cafés where you can relax and indulge in some of Costa Rica’s chocolatey treats and even bring some home with you to share. Here are our top picks of chocolate cafés in the country.

Caribeans Chocolate and Coffee

Cafe, Central American, Dessert

Caribeans Chocolate and Coffee in Costa Rica
© @carlosmedinav77 / Flickr
Caribeans Chocolate and Coffee is a small, family-owned business in Puerto Viejo dedicated to helping local farmers and indigenous tribes make a living that can actually support their families. Their sustainable ecological farming practices mean that they produce exceptional, organic, and fair trade chocolate and coffee. Caribeans offers an incredible chocolate tour for those who are interested in learning all about how chocolate is made, from farm to bar. They also have a shop, a “chocolate tasting lounge,” and two floors of open-air seating that overlooks the ocean. Here, you can relax after a day at the beach, sip a potent espresso along with liquid chocolate, enjoy some of their prized bar creations and baked goods, and also pick up chocolate gifts to bring home.

Garden Café

Bistro, Cafe, Restaurant, Dessert Shop, Central American, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-free, Soup, Healthy, Ice Cream, Fusion

Chocolate
© Everjean / Flickr

Sibú Chocolate Garden Café is a delectable farm-to-table lunch and dessert café serving up comfort food that tastes like it came from grandma’s kitchen. You can indulge in homemade empanadas, fresh salads, deli-style sandwiches and sides, and even hearty slow-cooked stews. It’s imperative that you save room for dessert, though, since you are in fact at one of Costa Rica’s most revered chocolate workshops. It’s also highly recommended that you take Sibú’s chocolate tour and then enjoy lunch and dessert on the terrace of the cute café.

Bread and Chocolate

Bakery, Cafe, Dessert Shop, Coffee Shop, Pastry Shop, Dessert, Fusion, Central American, Vegetarian

Bread and Chocolate in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica
© jules / Flickr

Bread and Chocolate is a favorite amongst Puerto Viejo locals and visitors. This bistro, café, and chocolate and dessert shop serves up breakfast, brunch, lunch, and sweet snacks all day long. They are well known for their chocolate truffles and homemade brownies, amongst other noteworthy pastries and dishes. A homemade chocolate muffin and French-press coffee are a real treat in the morning or a perfect late afternoon pick-me-up indulgence.

Samaritan Xocolata Factory

Bakery, Dessert Shop, Coffee Shop, Dessert, Gluten-free, Vegetarian, Vegan

bon bon
© Veganbaking.net / Flickr

Samaritan Xocolata is an artisanal, organic, fair trade, and Earth-friendly small-batch chocolate producer in Costa Rica that is dedicated to the environment, to the local famers and sustainable farming practices, and to creating extraordinary chocolate that is chock full of health benefits. They offer tours and workshops, as well as a delicious selection of chocolate products, baked goods, hot chocolate, and coffees at their chocolate factory in Canaan Rivas.

Cacao Lounge

Cafe, Dessert Shop, Coffee Shop, Pastry Shop, Central American, Fusion, Dessert

Chocolate bacon in Costa Rica
© Ted Eytan / Flickr

Cacao Lounge is an all-things chocolate lounge in the happening beach and surf town of Jacó. The downstairs area is a coffee shop that has an impressive selection of chocolate-dipped treats and desserts. You can even get jalapeños dipped in chocolate here! Upstairs is an air-conditioned lounge that is open to the public, but it can also be booked for private gatherings. Their peanut butter and honey chocolate pyramids and chocolate-dipped bacon (yes, you read that correctly) are must-try.

Chocoart Chocolatería

Cafe, Dessert Shop, Dessert, Central American

Chocoart in Costa Rica
© Everjean / Flickr

Chocoart is a cacao plantation located south of Puerto Viejo de Limón. They offer exceptional in-depth chocolate tours where you will have the opportunity to observe every stage of the cacao to chocolate process from seed to finished product. They now also have a chocolatería (chocolate café) where you can go and enjoy all of their different chocolate treats made from the organic cacao that is grown on the plantation.

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