Coffee farm tours are becoming popular tourist attractions for coffee lovers.
Friends joined me on a recent visit down the Kwazulu Natal South Coast. The only thing that would draw me away from the sound of the ocean is the aroma of coffee.
Beaver Creek Coffee Estate & Roastery is a mere 12km drive from Glenmore Sands where I spent a weekend with some of my favourite gals.
We drove down to Port Edward and turned off onto the Izingolweni Road, a tad nervous because it wasn't peak tourist season so the road was relatively quiet. We need not have feared; it was a pleasant drive, with stunning scenery.
Young and older coffee trees grow alongside the driveway, and a large gazebo attached to the coffee shop greeted us.
Winter is the best time of the year to visit our coastal region as we have mild winters and it's not our rainy season, so we mostly have sunny days; perfect for sightseeing, and the ideal climate for coffee farming.
We paid our ZAR85 for the coffee tour, which included a choice of Beaver Creek Coffees before the tour started, and a cappuccino afterward; excellent value I would say! I enjoy a dark roast, so I chose No. 4 - Espresso.
I also bought coffee to take home; freshly roasted this month!
This coffee estate was founded in 1984. Our knowledgeable tour guide was the grandson of the founder, he also grew up on the farm.
Interesting to learn that one could eat coffee cherries; they are sweet and quite delicious, but do not have much pulp.
We walked over to a shade house where they propagate young saplings from the seed, and from there walked around the orchards where a couple of different variants grow.
Various processes are done before the final product; it is no wonder good coffee is so pricey!
A pulping machine removes the outer pulp of the ripe coffee cherries.
We did not get to see the fermentation process which is done after pulping, but once that is done the beans go into washing channels to give them a good wash.
They're placed on drying beds to dry out in the sun, or by using large fans.
The hulling machine plays a vital part by removing the layer around the dried beans, and also removing the husk, leaving just the green coffee beans within.
The beans are graded according to size as well as quality before the roasting process.
This shows the different levels of roasting.
Our tour was complete, and it was time for a good cappuccino. We could have sat outside under the gazebo, or inside the coffee shop and ordered a bite to eat, but we had to return to join the rest of our group back at Glenmore. We were admiring the decor of the area behind the main coffee shop; old coffee grinders from yesteryear, paintings, and other artwork.
It brought back happy memories from our childhood days when Moms and Grandmas used to roast their coffee beans and grind them in the old hand grinder.
The very best cappuccino, filled with the rich aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans!
Clearwater MTB, as well as walking/hiking trails, are found on Beaver Creek Coffee Farm; from the 50metre Babychino, 400metre Chocochino routes, 2.2km Clearwater Trail, 2.5km Espresso route, 5.7km Crags View route, and then the serious stuff, from 7.5km right up to 13.5km!
Views of the Umtamvuma River, a waterfall from the top of the gorge on the other side of the river, and a couple of dams.
We certainly will do one of those next time.
We drove back and stopped one last time to admire the view of the little seaside town of Port Edward and its lighthouse way in the distance!
Create your own Forever Memory Bank
Join our community of awesome content creators
right here on HIVE
𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩
Join our Silver Bloggers community 
Artwork by @artywink
What a pleasure it gave me to see your tours, in Cuba we have a small coffee farm, if we are approved we want to condition it to make a small coffee and that people can enjoy the process of elaboration.
We still need to organize the drying process well, because we must have more security for the grain.
Love the pictures.
That sounds exciting, I hope all your plans work out @osimi! It could be the beginning of something that could be passed on to your children. Good luck, and thank you for popping in!
@lizelle Yes the plan is very nice, but it is difficult to realize in the country there are many difficulties, we hope we can do it someday. A big hug and thank you very much for your good wishes.❤️🤗🌹
Congratulations, your post has been added to WorldMapPin! 🎉
Did you know you have your own profile map?
And every post has their own map too!
Want to have your post on the map too?
Ah, tradition. Coffee is a synonym of tradition in many ways in many places around this little globe.
I wish I was there, friend. Hope you and your favorite gals enjoyed yourselves a lot. Big hug! ☕️
We had a wonderful time @marlyncabrera, it would have been a treat having you there!
Coffee will always be a part of life, no matter where one lives.
A big hug right back to you <3
It is nice to see the coffee process from harvesting to preparation to be consumed, very nice to see all the machines, it was a very pleasant post to see.
Thanks for sharing your coffee experience.
Excellent day.
I'm glad you enjoyed reading about the whole process @rinconpoetico7.
Have a wonderful day as well!
Hiya, @glecerioberto here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Top 3 in Travel Digest #2272.
Your post has been manually curated by the @worldmappin team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!
Become part of our travel community:
Thank you so much @glecerioberto and @worldmappin, what a lovely surprise <3
Damn, that sounds like excellent fun. And it certainly looks like a really beautiful place to visit. I've yet to visit a coffee farm, I admit. Somehow, cities here inevitably seem to offer tours of breweries (which I don't mind, but still xD). Gotta get on that. I'm glad you had such a lovely day! <3
It was a load of fun, sweet @honeydue, and fascinating to see what a long process it is to get to the final cup!
Learned a cool fun fact while coffee touring in Costa Rica.
Mosquitos, bastards, no one likes mosquitos. Except this one coffee farm in Costa Rica. On one side of the farm is coffee separated by a 3 feet wide footpath and the other side is bananas as far as you can see.
Banana attracts the mosquito, mosquito pollinates the coffee, tada!
Nice to see you keepin on truckin, young lady.
That's fascinating @dandays, what is worse though, bees or mosquitoes?
Could they do the same job, I wonder. Interesting!
Have to keep going my friend, life is way too precious!
I don't know, Lizelle, I just drink the stuff! = }
Have you managed to find a chocolate tour yet?
There are chocolate tastings but that will be the death of me, I wouldn't know when to stop!
How are you and Pura?
Aging, need I say more? = } She's had two Melanoma's lanced from her recently. One on her bicep, the scar is about 4 inches long. Another by her bellybutton about 1/2 the length. They got it all though. Me, meh, it's a long story.
Every time I see you around my face instinctually smiles without thinking about it.
Try a chocolate one of you get an opportunity. Cayenne pepper is required. That, cocoa, et cetera, who'da thunk?!
Ageing I call it, hopefully get there a tad slower with the addition of an 'e' but there's no ducking that!
Pura is a brave woman. I do hope all is well now, or as well as can be.
It warms my heart that I make you smile!
I'd love to go on a chocolate tour, especially with you, can imagine all the questions you'd come up with! Does Pura take her frying pan with?
Can't think of many things I'd rather opt into than a chocolate tour with Lizelle.
Nah, whenever I get out of line at the chocolate shop, she hits me with her fist. <3
Hey Lizelle 😁
I'm glad that you made it to the tour and what amazing photos you have here to take us vicariously with you!
This is awesome, and I hope that one day I'll get the chance to tour a coffee plantation. I've always wanted to tour Blue Mountain in Jamaica, but it never materialised.
The machines and equipment look so modern and it's interesting to read about the process.
Your post has brightened my day:)))
I'm so glad you enjoyed it @millycf1976.
Oh dear @millycf1976, I was half asleep when I responded last night, my eyes couldn't stay open😴
A coffee plantation tour in Jamaica sounds super exotic, I hope you get there one of these days.
It was good to see Beaver Creek's coffee tours are still going strong, I visited there before Covid. So many other tourist attractions closed down, very sad!
Coffee is something that will never die out though, right?
Enjoy the rest of the week <3
I've never been to a Coffee Estate & Roastery before but I bet it's a unique experience even for non-coffee drinkers. It's definitely something you don't get to see everyday.
It was something totally different Gabriela, it was so nice seeing the process from the seed to the cup! Their coffees are great - I think you've gathered by now that I'm a coffee lover🍵
Yes, I did! And it's always exciting to read about your experiences with coffee other than drinking it! I am only at the beginning with this passion so everything coffee-related makes me excited!
Then you would love to visit a coffee farm, I hope you get that opportunity sometime!
Coffee is grown in tropical regions called the 'coffee belt' - approximately 24 degrees north and south of the equator, so you would have to travel quite a distance. You never know where your travels will still take you!
Indeed. Thank you, dear. Hope you are well 😊🙏🏼
👏 Keep Up the good work on Hive ♦️ 👏
❤️ @reeta0119 suggested sagarkothari88 to upvote your post ❤️
Thank you very much!
Such a great interesting tour. It was nice to see the detailed process of coffee making, with the detailed images of coffee beans. This is something Iam seeing for the first time.
I was very surprised to see just how much goes into coffee farming!
I love your blogs, keep it up👏🥰
Thank you @jenajean, I am glad you enjoyed it🤗
What an exciting day trip for you. I love coffee and once when I visited Panama I got to go to a coffee plantation and watch the entire process. It was a wonderful experience. I never looked at coffee the same after that trip. ♥
Mmmm I feel like I can smell the coffee. There is nothing like that. I also am reminded to go to the special shop and get some good coffee. I am down to the cheap stuff right now and there is quite a different.
Looks like a fun time with a perfect cappucino ending.
This looks like a blast! I love coffee, have a fair amount of equipment at home, and spend way too much money on it. But I've never had a chance to tour a coffee farm. This absolutely needs to be added to my bucket list!
Your visit to Beaver Creek Coffee Estate sounds like a perfect blend of scenic beauty, coffee education, and nostalgic charm. The tour seems not only informative but also immersive, especially with the added bonus of enjoying freshly roasted coffee. The hiking trails and picturesque views you described make me want to plan a visit. Thank you for sharing such a detailed and vivid account of your trip! 🍒
This publication is beautiful. I have learned much more about coffee today.
Thanks for sharing.
Best regards @lizelle.
Congratulations @lizelle! You received a personal badge!
Wait until the end of Power Up Day to find out the size of your Power-Bee.
May the Hive Power be with you!
You can view your badges on your board and compare yourself to others in the Ranking
Check out our last posts: