Explore Puerto Rico's Coffee Trail

The gourmet coffee trade has exploded in Puerto Rico, recalling the island’s heyday as a major exporter of the product during the 19th century. Today, historic coffee haciendas are reopening and new coffee farms are being established throughout the Cordillera Central. The best time to visit haciendas is during harvest season (Sept.-Dec.).

Coffee seedlings in Maricao, Puerto Rico. Photo © U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southeast Region, licensed Creative Commons Attribution. Photo by Lilibeth Serrano, USFWS.

• Festival del Café: A weeklong celebration (late Feb.-early Mar.) of Yauco’s main crop, featuring parades, award ceremonies, musical and dance performances, arts and crafts, and food vendors.
• Café Hacienda San Pedro Tienda y Museo: The café is located on a coffee farm in Jayuya, serving coffee drinks and selling bags of freshly ground and whole bean coffee. A museum next door displays coffee-processing equipment dating back to 1931.
• Hacienda Buena Vista: Established in 1833, this former coffee plantation has been restored by the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico. Guided tours are available in Spanish and English.
• Hacienda Gripiñas: Relive the glory days of Puerto Rico’s 19th-century coffee trade by spending the night at this former coffee plantation.

Hacienda Gripiñas, a former coffee plantation in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Photo © Felix Lopez, licensed Creative Commons Attribution.

• Restaurante Vida Ventura: Make reservations for a weekend lunch or dinner at this former 19th-century coffee plantation near Adjuntas.
• Hacienda Pomarrosa: Take a two-hour tour of this working coffee farm near Jayuya. Enjoy a cup or two of the product, which is grown and processed on-site.
• La Fiesta del Acabe del Café: Celebrate the end of harvest season at a three-day celebration in Maricao (mid-Feb.). Festivities include musical performances, crafts, and food vendors.

Excerpted from the Fourth Edition of Moon Puerto Rico.