Tobago Cocoa Estate

The Tobago Cocoa Estate at Roxborough was planted from 2005 on abandoned estate land and grows trinitario cocoa, the hybrid variety that originated in Trinidad and is classed as fine-flavour. Unusually for the region it makes chocolate rather than only selling beans, with the bars produced from its own crop. Tours walk the plantation, show the fermentation boxes and the drying trays, and end with a tasting of the finished chocolate.

What's there

• The trinitario trees - the fine-flavour hybrid variety that originated in Trinidad.
• The fermentation boxes - the wooden boxes where the beans are fermented after harvest.
• The drying trays - sliding trays where the beans dry in the sun.
• The tasting - chocolate made from the estate's own crop.

When to go

January to May is driest for the walk. Harvest and processing run at two main periods and are not always in progress. Tours must be booked in advance.

Practical notes

Tours must be booked and the estate does not take walk-ins. Processing is seasonal and a visit may find nothing being fermented or dried. The access road above Roxborough is steep and rough.

Nearby

Roxborough is below, and Argyle Waterfall is nearby.