Incredible tours in Manuel Antonio - Villa Vanilla Organic Spice Farm

Chris, my guide tour, was fantastic! He is very knowledgeable and took me on a great tour through the property. He shared a lot of interesting history and growing process information not only about vanilla but also about spices like ceylon cinnamon, cacao, cardamom, ginger, cayenne pepper, hibiscus, mangosteen, and much more. 

Chris greeted me with a delicious homemade hibiscus and cinnamon ice tea. Then we started the tour with a presentation of cacao beans! this was my favorite part of the tour because I love cacao so it was very interesting to learn about how it is grown and processed! The best part was tasting it! I tried pure cocoa directly from a peeled roasted bean and it was amazing! It tastes very nutty and smoky- it reminded me of the taste of Mezcal! I also tried the cacao nib, crumbled bits of dried cacao bean, 100% pure cacao. So so good! Did you know that cacao nibs are highly nutritious? They are exceptionally rich in antioxidants - these help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation! So from now on, I’ll have only organic and real cacao and I won’t feel guilty anymore ;)

After that, we took a walking tour of the area where vanilla beans are grown and anything that Chris told me about this amazing flower it was so interesting! 

First of all, vanilla is an orchid and is the only edible fruit of the 35,000 orchid species. Second, vanilla grows on vines and they must be pruned and trained regularly. Third, it is the most popular flavor and the second most expensive flavoring agent in the world. And the reason for its high cost is the labor-intensive nature of vanilla cultivation and processing. In Fact, each vanilla pod is the product of the manual pollination of the vanilla orchid flower. Isn’t that amazing?

Chris offered me a taste of house-made vanilla bean ice cream and he revealed me a trick. When you can see little black dots on your vanilla ice cream, it means that only 100% of pure vanilla has been used!

The farm grows over 20 types of herbs and it was so interesting to know and see for the first time a cinnamon tree. Chirs told me that most products sold as cinnamon in the United States, are actually cassia. True cinnamon and cassia are cousins. Cassia originated in southern China and true cinnamon originated from Sri Lanka. It has a paler tan color, a softer, more crumbly texture, and a more delicate flavor than cassia.

We ended the tour in this beautiful treehouse with an epic view of the jungle.

They also have a really cute Spice Shop where you can buy cacao nibs, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, clove, hibiscus, and much more. I bought an amazing golden mix spice blend powder made with turmeric, ginger,ceylon cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, and clove that taste amazing with any kind of milk.

Overall it was such an amazing experience and I recommend it highly for almost everyone, kids included!

Pura Vida

Simona - Volunteer December 2021