Learn about coffee. Eat lunch if you can. Fabulous. Very complete and entertaining tour. The location is worth the visit just to experience the place.
Didn't realise how much there was to coffee production. Very comprehensive talk with masses of visual aids, questions and laughter. Into the fields and factory for a really good look at the manufacturing.All the coffee you could ever want to drink...Transport to and from Manizales was beautifully driven and spot on as arranged. Book through really helpful man in Tourist Information centre park in Centre Manizales, just down from top air cable station.
Pick up in town a half hour late. Power was out at farm so no promised welcoming coffee. We were also promised to roast a small batch...did not happen. The extra cost lunch was almost tasteless. When we were served an espresso it was merely warm. The grounds are beautiful but save your money. No apologies were offered or reduction in fees. If everything promised were delivered it might have been worth the asking price.
It was a perfect occasion to learn a lot on local coffee production and to visit a wonderful area. The guide was very competent and attentive to all the questions of group. Excellent lunch at a pleasant place. I had booked the tour from my hostel and everything was very well organized.
I am an unrepentant coffee snob. I will not go to Starbucks and require the origin, date of roasting, and tasting profile on all the whole beans I purchase. This was both a tour and hands-on classroom about coffee production; I loved it and now admire Colombian coffee even more!
I know that Lonelly Planet lovers are not going to agree, but not all that is listed on lonelly planet is that good.I took this tour on December/14. Its pricer than most of the coffe tours on the region, and is really crowded (thanks LP)My impression is that this is a comercial tour more than anything. The whole situation is focused on selling things instead of presenting and teaching.It takes 4-5 hours, because those who choose do not have lunch have to wait for the ones that are having lunch at the farm (comercial part of the tour) so be aware that you might spend more than hal a day there.I would rather go to a smaller farm to have the taste of what coffe means in cultural terms that to this one, but this is my personal opnion.
This really is a great day trip to a coffee plantation with all of the free coffee you can drink. The guide was excellent and well-versed in coffee production and I learned a lot of new things.A few items: with lunch the price was $57,000 pesos. Be prepared to walk as you will actually be walking through coffee fields. No one told me about the pool else I would've brought my suit and went in for a quick dip. And bring a copy of your passport as I think they have to track people for their purposes. Oh! And tell them that you want to buy coffee! I was expecting the tour to end in a gift shop of sorts and it didn't. They were extremely low pressure about it, which surprised me because my main reason for going on the tour was to buy coffee. In all, this was a great tour and I can see how this place would be very peaceful and serene if you were to stay here for a few days. I would take any negative reviews with a grain of salt.
The coffee tour was a great experience. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of coffee and the various types of coffee beans. He reviewed the roasting process. We were given a tour of the coffee farm and walked through the plantation and explained the growing process. The tour then visited the plant where the coffee beans are cleaned, sorted and dried. The tour was very informative and the coffee farm has a beautiful setting. The guide was very helpful and answered our questions the only fault maybe be that he did not always address all of the tour participants with the answers. The tour is well worth the price.
Our guide and tutor, Rubén, was excellent. He shared his extensive knowledge easily and understandably in a confident manner. I was amazed to discover the small amount of equipment and machinery needed to process such large quantities of coffee berries. I learned a lot about the history of coffee, how and where it grows, and about the different qualities. A little capital investment in materials and IT would help Rubén shine even brighter in his role and visitors to have an even richer experience.
I couldn't help taking shots of all the beautiful compositions of trees,flowers and structurally exciting plants as well as hanging on every word of the coffee tour.