Chocolate Tours

With its tropical lowland climate, southern Belize has the ideal conditions for growing cacao - the fruit that is processed into chocolate.Cacao grows on trees in red, yellow, orange, and green pods. Each pod contains about 30 - 40 cacao seeds growing along a stem and covered in a sweet gooey white pulp.To turn cacao into chocolate, farmers must crack open the pods, separate the seeds, allow them to ferment, dry them, roast them, and grind them with sugar and other ingredients.

Cacao was used by the ancient Mayans as a unit of currency, and also ground into a warm, dark drink often seasoned with pepper.Today, cacao is enjoying a new popularity as a cash crop for Mayan farmers in southern Belize.A small and hearty tree, cacao can be grown organically, prevents erosion, provides habitat for wildlife, and offers an alternative to slash and burn farming. Most farmers in Toledo sell their beans to the Toledo Cacao Grower’s Association (TCGA). This Fair Trade cooperative, which was organized by Green & Black’s chocolate, ensures that Toledo’s farmers have a market to sell their cacao at a fair price.

A number of chocolate activities are available through Cotton Tree Lodge:

Cacao farm tours to San Felipe village and San Pedro Columbia village are regular favorites with our guests. See how cacao is grown, learn to process chocolate, and enjoy lunch with a Mayan family in their home.

Cotton Tree Lodge is associated with a Fair Trade, organic chocolate company, Cotton Tree Chocolate, and tours of the Cotton Tree Chocolate factory in Punta Gorda are offered frequently. Those who are truly interested in chocolate might consider joining one of our Chocolate Weeks in February or May.Participants visit cacao farms, meet with the TCGA, participate in chocolate making workshops, and leave with chocolate bars they made themselves.

The Toledo Cacao Festival in May is an annual celebration of chocolate in the Toledo District, as well as a showcase for the music, food, and art of the Mayan, Garifuna, East Indian, and Creole cultures of the region.