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Come! Come! (Eat! Eat)
I looked at the small brown seed in my hand, doubtful that this was something humans would consume willingly. But Catato, our guide eagerly gestured to his mouth, signaling me to have a taste.
Luckily, I was trying a cacao seed, nothing too out of the ordinary and the bitterness seeped through my mouth when I bit down. Hmm, this isn’t exactly the chocolate flavor I’m used to!
He laughed as he watched my face scrunched up, enduring the bitterness of the cacao.
We were on a chocolate tour in Puerto Viejo but this was no ordinary chocolate tour. We were on the Watsi reservation with a BriBri indigenous family as our guides, showing us how they make chocolate and use medicinal plants as their way of living.
Costa Rica is home to some 12,000 BriBri in the Hone Creek area of Limon and even more throughout the entire Talamanca canton. A few families have opened their doors to welcome tourists into their home so they can share their traditions, language, cultures and way of life.
We went on the BriBri Chocolate Tour in Puerto Viejo to learn about the special role cacao plays in their culture and it was one of the most interesting and enlightening tours we’ve ever done.
If you’re in the area, a visit to the indigenous communities is a must. Learn about the BriBri way of life as a unique activity in Puerto Viejo.
BriBri Chocolate Tour in Puerto Viejo
The family we visited was the Catato Lopez Lopez family who live on the Watsi reservation about 25 minutes from Puerto Viejo. In addition to chocolate, we also learned about the various medicinal plants the BriBri use.
The moment we got out of the car, we were greeted by a pitter patter of feet and curious looks from the kids. 3-5 generations of BriBri can live in the same community and their clan system is matrilineal, meaning the clan is determined by the mother.
Women have a crucial role in the BriBri people as they are the ones who inherit land and prepare cacao, not men.
One of the daughters came to welcome us and proceeded to call over her father to give the medicinal plant tour.
Catato, a stout man with a youthful appearance and enthusiastic energy introduced himself and straight away started showing us to the items they make from plants such as threads, whistles, bowls.
He actually didn’t speak much Spanish and his daughter who did speak Spanish, came with us to translate.
We walked down to the garden behind their house and I was in complete awe not by the how many trees and plants they had, but by their uses.
He knew every single plant and tree by name and showed us what they use them for such as paint and dyes, making arrows and even glue!
After learning about the medicinal plants, we headed to the house where the women prepare the cacao.
Only women are allowed to prepare cacao as they believe that the cacao tree used to be a women and the god Sibu turned her into a tree.
The mother of the Catato family, Vicky started roasting the cacao beans over a wood fire for 10 minutes while telling us what they use cacao for.
After roasting, it was time to cool the beans and then crush them.
She then sifted the beans to get rid of the shells and then poured it into a grinder. After grinding, the beans turn into a beautiful chocolate paste.
After that, you can add milk or sugar to it, eat it pure, drink it or make it into creams and lotions. They added a bit of milk so we could drink it and it was delicious.
The BriBri women also use it as a face moisturizer and no wonder they love cacao so much, it makes them look so young! I couldn’t believe Vicky was over 50 and has had 9 children, she looked so much younger!
Why Do the BriBri Chocolate Tour?
There are several chocolate tours offered in Puerto Viejo so you may wonder why do the BriBri chocolate tour instead? Well you’ll first be helping out the BriBri people who offer these tours and sell the chocolate products as their livelihood.
They depend on selling cacao, bananas, plantains and other products to support themselves and their families.
As indigenous people of Costa Rica, they have used chocolate in their daily lives for many years and have a special connection to it.
Unfortunately, many of the indigenous people in the country are poor and struggle to keep their culture and tradition alive, which is a good reason why you should go to their tour and support them.
Second, cacao has a very special meaning to them so you learn about it from a family who really cherishes this special tree. Third, they are such warm and fun people and they treated us like family.
How to Book a Bribri Tour
There are some companies like ATEC in Puerto Viejo who runs tours. You can also check on Viator and you can find several options. There is one for a Bribri chocolate tour and Cahuita Natioanl Park, one for Bribri Chocolate and Waterfall Experience and another Bribri chocolate experience.
Read about more unique/off the beaten path activities in Costa Rica below!
And read about other things to do in Puerto Viejo below!
Mary Kay Smith says
Hello, We will have our own transport but our Spanish is spotty at best. Could you please advise a tour guide/company that could meet us and translate.
Thank You
Sammi says
We went with ATEC, they’re based in Puerto Viejo, you can reach out to them and see they can help you arrange your visit
Brad Miller says
Sammi, which tour did you guys do? ATEC or Terraaventuras? Sounds really interesting and a good cause, for the six of us, thanks, Brad
Sammi says
Our tour was put together by ATEC but as we speak Spanish and have our own car, we went on our own.
Ginger says
Thanks for the great post on this family. We have a rental car and were able to find this today on our own. For those asking, from PV, we took 36 to BriBri, continuing on the road after the pavement ends & eventually we saw the sign to turn down another road to the left & from that point could also see some cars & a couple tourismo vans parked in front. Vicky spoke excellent Spanish, as did her son that did the plant portion of the tour.
Sammi says
Hi Ginger! I’m so glad you guys got to do the tour, we loved it and found it so fascinating. Plus their family is just lovely! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Jenni Martinez says
Do you happen to know how far this is from guanacaste? We will be staying at the Occidental Papagayo and I contacted ATEC to book but they said distance is too long so sounds like they can’t provide transportation. Which is fine, we will have a car but wondering if it’s doable to drive there. We would just need a guide as well.
Sammi says
Hi Jenni, this is near Puerto Viejo which is all the way on the South Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. It’s about 8 hours driving from Guanacaste so you would need to make a dedicated trip to Puerto Viejo to do this tour since it’s super far.
Sammi says
No me recuerdo exactamente pero puede preguntar al ATEC, la empresa que hace los tours de los BriBris.
Barbara says
Looks perfect! Where did you book your tour? Or can you just go there yourself?
Sammi says
Hi Barbara! You can book the tour through ATEC, a company in Puerto Viejo. They provide transportation and a bilingual guide. You can go by yourself if you have a car but the BriBri don’t speak any English (their Spanish is so-so as well).
Gabriel says
De casualidad tienes la dirección exacta del lugar para ir por mi propia cuenta?
Gracias