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Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️
The revered Latin American female writer Isabel Allende once advised: “Write what should not be forgotten.” Inspired by the quote’s brevity and the subject matter of lasting significance, the articles in our Memorable Costa Rica series are concise and highlight what we feel are the most memorable aspects of featured Costa Rica experiences. If you don’t want to waste time rereading the repeated facts and long-drawn-out paraphrased summaries that some other Costa Rica resources offer, then the personal briefs in our Memorable Costa Rica series are perfect for you. Use them to discover the unique qualities and unforgettable moments that we believe each Costa Rica experience provides, so you can easily decide which experiences are worth incorporating into your trip, and in only five minutes or less. 👍🏽
Estimated reading time for this article: 4minutes
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El Toledo Coffeeisn’t your average coffee plantation. It’s a small-scale coffee farm run by three generations of a welcoming Costa Rican family with big hearts. Here, among the fertile hills of Atenas (roughly 40 minutes west of downtown San Jose), you can spend time with grandpa (Don Gerardo), grandma (Doña Sole), dad and lead tour guide (Gabriel), Gabriel’s helpful daughters, and other members of the family while learning how coffee is made on a coffee tour. (The coffee tour at El Toledo Coffee is a family-friendly walking tour to coffee production stations around the farm’s walkable grounds.) Although El Toledo Coffee produces delicious organic coffee, the most impressive thing about the operation is the family’s commitment to sustainable coffee farming. At this particular coffee farm, trees aren’t cut down to create space for manufacturing, there is no use of harsh chemicals, which can harm the environment (not to mention the health of coffee consumers), and coffee production is zero-waste. (Ask how El Toledo Coffeerepurposes discarded coffee fruit to create coffee tea, coffee juice, coffee wine, and coffee marmalade.) What’s more, Gabriel’s passion for environmental conservation and his family’s efforts in this realm, as well as his interest in sharing what he has learned with curious folks, is heartwarming and inspiring. In a world where coffee has become synonymous with the commercial success of Starbucks, Tim Hortons, and other popular chains, El Toledo Coffee‘s authentic, age-old perspective toward coffee production (evidenced in part by the farm’s use of rudimentary, hand-operated equipment) is a refreshing cup of humility that trades pomp and frills for simplicity and sustainability. Go for a taste of the home brew or a whole new outlook on how one of the world’s most desirable products, coffee, can and should be produced in gentler ways.
El Toledo Coffee photos
El Toledo CoffeeEl Toledo CoffeeEl Toledo Coffeecoffee fruitcoffee beans stripped from their fruitcoffee bean drying stationRicky; learning about coffee production from El Toledo Coffee owner, Don Gerardocoffee production at El Toledo Coffeecoffee production at El Toledo Coffeecoffee wine at El Toledo CoffeeRicky; picking coffee fruit (like he did as a young boy) at El Toledo CoffeeRicky; with Gabriel at El Toledo Coffee
Map of the El Toledo Coffee farm
More information about El Toledo Coffee
For more information about El Toledo Coffee, including reservations for their coffee tours, please see the coffee farm’s website.
Pura vida!
Do you have questions about El Toledo Coffee, want help deciding if this coffee tour is worth doing based on the experiences you’re looking to have, or need help determining how to best incorporate a visit to this coffee farm into your vacation? No problem! When you’re ready, make an appointment here to communicate with me (Nikki) privately and we can discuss these and other topics to get your questions answered fast and your Costa Rica trip poised for success. Pura vida, amigos! 🙂
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Visiting El Toledo Coffee—Photos And Brief (5-Minute Read): Atenas, Costa Rica
Description
We describe the most memorable aspects of the family-run El Toledo Coffee farm in Atenas, Costa Rica, plus share photos from our visits.
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Tagged: alajuela, arts, atenas, coffee, costa rica, costa rica travel, costa rica vacation, culture, doka, el toledo, national theater, nature, plantations, rescue centers, sustainability, travel, travel tips, wildlife, zooave