(x) Vanilla Spice Plantation Tour

We are a tropical laboratory for sustainable agriculture growing, vanilla, Ceylon/True cinnamon, black/white pepper, allspice, cocoa, cardamom, turmeric, Tulsi/holy basil, oregano, bay leaf, and our newest spice…cloves! Learn about organic farming and purchase aromatic spices and pure vanilla extract. Our “crown jewel”, vanilla is rated the most popular flavor in the world. The farm sells vanilla and cinnamon to chocolate companies in the US and Costa Rica, as well as local restaurants.

Did you know vanilla is the only edible orchid of the more than 30,000 orchid species! Our spice tour is completely hands-on, with opportunities to smell and taste aromatic spices and herbs and essential oil plants from the intoxicatingly sweet ylang-ylang, a very female scent, to the peppery, more masculine aroma of allspice, you will have the opportunity to explore the yin and yang of the spice world.  Our farm also cultivates the very special delicately flavored species of cinnamon (Ceylon) and we have been making chocolate with our spices for over three years. We offer a unique “Flavors of the World” spice tasting tour in our expansive “Viewpoint”. After the tour, you visit our  Spice Shoppe where you can stock up on vanilla beans and extract, Ceylon cinnamon, savory chili-infused hot chocolate, and all our other spices. Set in the pueblo of Villa Nueva, 11 miles east of Quepos, Villa Vanilla has been managed by Henry Karczynski, former Peace Corps volunteer, tropical agriculture consultant, and vanilla visionary, for thirty years.

Tour duration: 2.5 hours