Chocolate Making and Tasting at a Local Factory in San José
Recommended by 98% of travelers
Badge of Excellence
San Jose, Costa Rica
- 2 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Whether you're a chocolate snob or are happy to eat anything vaguely chocolate-related, this factory visit and tasting in San Jose will expand your palate. Learn how the humble cocoa bean is transformed into a bar of high quality chocolate, then try your hand at making your own bespoke goodies. With over 15 fillings and toppings, the combinations are endless.
- Learn about chocolate from experts and support a local business in San Jose with your visit
- Take home chocolates personalized to your tastes
- Enjoy a more personalized experience with a maximum of 8 travelers per tour
- Choose from several eco-friendly chocolate packaging options
Sample Menu
Dessert
Chocolate Tasting
Fresh cocoa fruit; dry and roasted cocoa beans; cocoa nibs; chocolates in different concentrations; cocoa drink.
What's Included
- Creative materials for eco-friendly packaging (boxes, wrapping paper, stickers, etc.) Inputs for personal use (caps, aprons, gloves) Equipment necessary to make chocolates (molds, spatulas, machines).
- SnacksComplete cocoa beans to bars tasting, more than 15 different fillings and toppings to convine with your chocolates creations, cacao drink and water
- Private transportation
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Tapir Chocolates10101 San José, San José, Barrio Escalante, 10101, Costa Rica
You can find our location as “Tapir Chocolates” in Google Maps, Waze or Uber. Black Gates with the door terracota. Is the Street 29, Av 7 & 9. Costarican direction: From "Parque Francia" 150mts North, is a white house, in front of Olmos Kinder Garden). Barrio Escalante, San José, Costa Rica.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Start time.3:00 pm
What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 28 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
I treated my bridesmaids and brother to a chocolate workshop and we had the best time! Our instructor was super knowledgeable and sweet! Definitely was one of the highlights of our trip and we all throughly enjoyed our chocolate as well ☺️
Reviews
4.9
based on 158 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
This was a phenomenal experience- we still talk about it almost a year later (I’m traveling for another trip and realized I didn’t finish my review). It was a small group (4) and an incredibly hands on experience. I would do it again in a heartbeat, we had so much fun.
This was an excellent experience, very informative, and delicious! The instructor was extremely knowledgeable
Awesome. The ingredients tasted so good. Great experience. Your guide was communicative and easy to reach.
If you enjoy chocolate you will LOVE this class! Mauricio is a wonderful and patient teacher and we learned so much about chocolate from the cocoa plant to the chocolate bar and everything in between. It was eye opening and so much fun too! Mauricio was so kind and suggested locations where we might see an endangered Tapir and helped us with our Uber after class. We loved it so much we are going to do this class again when we return to Costa Rica next year!
It was fun & informative, I won't take chocolate for granted ever again! Who knew there was so much history to this tasty food.
Very interesting and fun with a knowledgeable guest we learned a lot about chocolate
We hoped that a sign would make it easier to find the place
It was so nice learning the history of chocolate and making our own.
At the end we were suggested very good restaurants and are so appreciative!
Fun, educational and delicious. Owner was friendly and loves his work. He spent extra time educating us on cacao history.
We had a wonderful experience! It was entertaining and informative at the same time! We would highly recommend! It was also very nice to bring home our homemade custom chocolate bars home with us!
Great tour overall. The teacher was very knowledgeable and very friendly. He guides you step by step on how to make chocolate. I was a solo traveler and was scared to walk by myself in the neighborhood to go to a restaurant. He walked with me to the restaurant which was much appreciated. I'm only giving 4 stars because when I arrived 15 minutes early, he told me to wait by myself outside and I was solo and I didn't know the area. I had to tell my Uber driver to wait with me while the guy opened the door. Mind you I was in San Jose and since the traffic is always crazy you are supposed to arrive early to any activity otherwise you can miss the class or come in late. Word to the wise don't come early because he will not let you in.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Hello. We normally let participants into our workshop space 10 minutes early, as we are cleaning up between sessions. You arrive 15 minutes early, and entered the workshop 10 minutes before of schedule, before the other participants had arrived. Barrio Escalante (our location) is situated in a very safe tourist area surrounded by shops, nice restaurants, and accommodations; you could have gone to a lovely terrace for a coffee while waiting for the workshop to begin. At the end of the session, we kindly walked you to a restaurant on the same block because you were afraid. We are glad that anyways you enjoyed the class and make your own delicious chocolate! Kind regards
This experience was AWESOME! Definitely book this tour! We learned so much and got to try the actual cacao fruit! So glad we did it
Mauricio was a great host and teacher! We got to learn a lot about the chocolate business and the science behind the making of chocolate.
Great place for solo travelers.
Fun, easy going environment.
Professional & Knowledgeable staff.
Teacher was very good looking!
We had such a lovely time learning all about the harvesting of cacao and the production of chocolate! It was very cool to be able to taste the products at each stage of the harvesting, roasting, and producing process! Making our own chocolate bars was definitely the highlight and the instructions were clear and easy to follow! We loved all the variety in the toppings and fillings you could use and getting to make our own boxes for our bars was a bonus. The location, right in San Jose, made this an excellent option for us to do with only half a day to spend in the city.
Mauricio was super knowledgeable about chocolate production with so many samples to try as he spoke. The class allows you to make two chocolate bars. You even get to design your own package to store the chocolate. I would highly recommend this activity to any chocolate enthusiast.
Best experience in Costa Rica 🇨🇷!!
I learned so much about chocolate 🍫
We had a blast 😊🎊🎉🎈we even decorated our own chocolate boxes for our chocolates.
Learning about the history of cocoa was interesting for me (my 12 year old would have skipped that part) but when we got to the testing and chocolate making he was all in. Letting you do the chocolate yourself, pick your toppings, and decorate your chocolate wrappers was a great experience. I would recommend it if you are looking for something smaller, more interactive and easy for kids to participate.
This was such a great experience to for such a great price. The history, knowledge & making process was so well worth every penny. Thank You Mauricio!
Fantastic!! Educational, unique and fun. I would highly recommend it and it was perfect for my stay in SJO
Tiny place on a quiet street, 100% artisanal, like someone’s home. Amazing experience, friendly educational, super fun. And the chocolate is beautiful, delicious!
A little tricky to find, but absolutely worth the effort. In a place like Costa Rica where so many activities are high-energy and physical, this was a perfect change of pace, relaxing, fun, and full of rich cultural insight. Mauricio was an incredible instructor, patient, engaging, and genuinely supportive throughout the experience. We loved every step, from learning the history of chocolate to crafting our own bars and even designing our own packaging. Such a unique, hands-on experience, and we’re so glad we did it.
WOWWWW hands down this was the BEST thing we've ever done! Not only was our host super kind and informative but he made the overall experience really something more people should be talking about. He went above and beyond and it is definitely going to be something we remember for a lifetime. Our daughters are 4 and 8 and they had the best time too, we stayed super engaged, the whole experience moved seamlessly and perfectly and we're so beyond happy we booked this! Amazing experience!
It is not actually a factory but rather small group training in how to make chocolate from bean to bar. The host is the owner o the boutique chocolate company. The actual factory is about 1 hour away. He is delightful and provides much historical information about the origins of chocolate. He takes as much time as the event requires and ours ran a bit long but he did not rush us at all. He also provides recommendations for restaurants in the area (he is a chef by training who became entranced by chocolate). His recommendations include all all types of food, including vegetarian and vegan options. The only confusing thing about the experience is that it is in a house in a residential area . When we went there was no Tapir Chocolates sign so we were not sure we were in the correct place. The location is in the middle of a block, and look for the house with the black bars and the bronze/terra cotta entry door. We had a lot of fun. He is also a wealth of information if, like me, you try to temper chocolate for holiday bon-bons or truffles! However, the other guests did not make candy at home and had an equally wonderful time !
Mauricio lead an educational and hands-on fun chocolate making experience, good for all ages probably suggest seven and up. We were able to see the CACAO fruit in all of its forms and taste each stage. we learned about the origins and how to properly temper chocolate to be able to make at home as well. Each participant had the opportunity to make two chocolate bars themselves including a huge variety of fillings and toppings. We even were able to design our own wrapper for our finished product. After being in the sun and doing lots of hiking every day, this was a super great way to end our Costa Rican Vacay. We give Mauricio and the TAPIR chocolate company ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ plus we got to bring our chocolate bars home!! Located in a great area for nearby restaurants after!
This was a fun and informative experience that I highly recommend. An interesting group from all over and the knowledgeable company owner teaching us and helping us make our own chocolate bars. We made our own chocolate souvenirs. Great fun!
this was such a fun and unique experience! it was very informative and definitely something id recommend
This is a wonderful, interactive educational and fun activity! Forgot delicious! All age groups Mauricio was a fabulous instructor. So glad we did this!
This was a fantastic experience! We learned a ton about the history & cultural significance of chocolate. Tasting all the stages from fruit to seed to bar was fascinating. And we made chocolate bars! All with a very knowledgeable and friendly host in a scrupulously clean setting. Totally recommend.
This tour was excellent. He was genuine in sharing his knowledge of the history of cocoa and chocolate making in Costa Rica. He was able to sense those who are more anxious when it came to following the steps for making our personal chocolate bars. He loved having questions brought forward and was complimentary to our questions. Overall great experience. Of course we lucked out and got basically a semi private class. 😊
Very informative and hands on experience. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and fun to listen to. I would recomend this tour to anyone interested in chocolates!
Member Pricing
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$54.62
per personWas $57.50(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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