Take a short drive from Hopkins Village to a cacao farm to learn about how the Mayans cultivate cacao trees, process cacao beans, and make chocolate. The guide at the cacao farm will give you a detailed explanation and the process of how cacao beans are extracted from the pods and then fermented and finally dried and ready to be processed into chocolate. Experience the traditional Mayan way of making chocolate from bean to bar. Cacao Beans are grown by local farmers in Maya Center Village and are certified Organic.
This chocolate-making tour starts from the cacao tree and ends with a Mayan chocolate bar in your hands. Our chocolate-making tour takes place in the community of Maya Center where you will visit a cacao farm where the farmer gives you a complete history of his organic cacao farm, from there we head to the chocolate factory, which is 5 minutes away from the cacao farm. You will roast your own cacao beans on the clay griddle, just like how the Mayans did. Making chocolate on the Mayan grinding stone is a lot of fun! The cacao beans being ground on the grinding stone gets magical as you witness your chocolate beginning to unfold. What is more exciting is that you get to eat your own chocolate! The tour is very educational and hands-on.