After a few beautifully lazy days in Bocas del Toro we arrived in Boquete. Being budget travellers we did this totally do-able journey by public bus rather than shuttle (which is a whopping $30). This is how we did it:
- Boat from Bocas to Almirante ($5, 30mins)
- Taxi to bus station ($1) believe me it’s worth it, you won’t want to walk it
- Bus from Almirante to David ($9, 4hrs)
- Bus from David to Boquete ($1.25, 1hr) Total cost: $16.25 (almost half that of the shuttle)
On arriving at Hotel Central and drinking our liquid gold welcome coffee, we quickly realised that Boquete knows it’s stuff when it comes to coffee. We learnt that this region is in fact famous for growing some of the most expensive coffee in the world, Geisha coffee and being coffee lovers, we had to give it a try.
The Tour
We went on our tour with Tours BQT and it was more than just a coffee tour. The day started off at a relaxed 10:30- The founder of Tours BQT Arturo picked us up in his 4×4 and it wasn’t long before our first stop. We visited a rock climbing wall that was created when Volcan Baru erupted around 500 years ago, creating solid basalt rock walls throughout the valley. You can climb these walls yourself if you have the equipment (or see how far up you can get without), or there are companies that offer tours including transport and equipment for around $45.
Our next stop was at the beautiful San Ramon Waterfall, a 50m high waterfall with beautifully clear spring waters. There is a small stall set up where you can buy some artisan gifts and souvenirs and of course the boys couldn’t resist a fashion show.
We arrived at Finca Elida’s coffee plantation and headed straight for where the Geisha coffee was growing. Here Arturo took us through the importance of elevation levels, introduced us to the factors to be considered for speciality coffee’s, and allowed us to taste the coffee beans straight from the tree. Next he took us into the factory and introduced us to the three main types of coffee processing; washed, natural and honey and the impact these different methods have on the finished product. We saw the beans at different stages of processing and met some of the workers at the plantation.
The final part of the tour was our tasting session with four different coffees and a coffee tea including the geisha coffee that we were so excited to try. Arturo clearly knows his stuff when it comes to how to do this professionally and he talked us through the tasting process used and the standards coffee is tasted against. After slurping at the coffee to our hearts content we had the opportunity to purchase some coffee from the factory. After the tour Arturo kindly dropped us off at the entrance to The Lost Waterfalls Hike- the perfect end to a great day.
Check out our youtube channel for our video of the day
Tour Overview
Overall we had a great day with Arturo and Tours BQT. He really tailored the tour to us by adjusting the strength of the coffee tasting to our palette (we enjoy strong coffee). We just wished we had more time to check out the other tours that Arturo offers.
Specialty Coffee 101
Company: Tours BQT- Arturo Venegas
Cost: US$35pp
Tour duration: 3hrs
Includes: Transport, coffee tour and tasting
You need to bring: Water, Camera
How to book a tour: contact Arturo on Instagram @toursBQT, email hello@toursboquete.com, WhatsApp +507-6252-2730 or via his website http://www.toursboquete.com
For any further information please ask in the comments below or contact us / follow us on social media. @CoupleExplorers
Couple of Explorers 