Ixcacao Maya Belizean Chocolate
Experience a Farm-to-Chocolate process, managed and operated by Maya Belizeans Juan and Abelina Cho in the village of San Felipe. Our products are made using all organic Cacao Beans grown and harvested on our Farm, processed without any artificial flavoring or synthetic stabilizers.
Juan, has been working for the past years along with Sustainable Harvest International promoting sustainable and Organic farming methods to farmers in Belize, and other countries in Central America. Juan believes that universal love for chocolate—produced sustainably—will save the rainforest!
Abelina—The Chocolate Queen—comes from a family of traditional Maya chocolate producers, prepares delicious lunches harvested from the IXCACAO organic farm—featuring chocolate as a key ingredient, including Chocolate Chicken, Pork, and Fish and other unique dishes that represent the flavors of Mayan Belize.
Meals and Tours
The Chocolate Lunch Lunches are prepared by the one and only Chocolate Queen, Abelina Cho, famous for her CHOCOLATE CHICKEN, in which the “sauce is boss”. Lunches are buffet style, with all organic foods from our farm to table. We also cater for vegetarian meals. This lunch, served with hot chocolate, will give you energy of a lifetime.
Obsidian Tour (1 hour - starting at 9 AM and 2 PM) After a five minute tour explaining the initial steps before you make your own chocolate, you are brought to the chocolate facility. Immersed in the exotic aroma of rich natural chocolate, you are seated at a table a cup of fresh hot chocolate and treated to pieces of our naturally flavored chocolate. After the treats, you make your own chocolate using our heirloom stone tools.
Jade Tour (3 hours - 10 AM to 1 PM) This experience combines the Chocolate Making and Chocolate Lunch.
Gold Tour (5 1/2 hours — 9 AM to 1:30 PM) The Farm, Chocolate Making, and Chocolate Lunch Enjoy a guided one hour hike around our farm to see and touch our flourishing cacao trees, and learn fascinating facts about cacao and how we cultivate it. See the different varieties of cacao trees living in a biodiverse jungle teeming with many species of plants and animals. We will show you our medicinal plants and produce of our vegetable garden and complete the farm tour by making your own fresh sugar Cane juice.. Yum!
For this tour you will need:
- Insect repellant
- Sunscreen
- Hiking boots
- Outdoor clothing such as; long pants, long sleeve shirt and/or a hat.
- Water bottle (we will provide refills)
- Camera and Binoculars for unexpected Birds or Monkey Surprises!
Home Stay Accommodations
In addition to making chocolate, we educate visitors and students from around the world about organic agriculture, agro-forestry, archaeology and anthropology.
Our Sixteen bunk Bed house is equipped with, mosquito nets and solar electricity, with shared outdoor bathrooms under a thatch roof, to experience a complete chocolate night in our community.