El Trapiche Ecológico Galápagos
On a working family farm in the Bellavista highlands, owner Adriano Cabrera leads you through the full journey from raw crop to finished product — sugarcane juice pressed by a traditional trapiche, hand-roasted coffee, and cacao cracked fresh from the pod. It is one of the most genuine, flavour-packed experiences on any Galápagos itinerary.
A farm tour that engages all your senses
The tour covers sugarcane, coffee and cacao in hands-on, side-by-side sequence. You squeeze sugarcane stalks through the old wooden trapiche press, shell and roast coffee beans by hand over an open flame, and crack open cocoa pods to taste the raw, sweet-sour pulp before it becomes chocolate.
The finale is a demonstration of the farm's homemade sugarcane moonshine, distilled on-site in a rudimentary copper still. Tastings of every product — including a coffee-and-chocolate powder you stir into warm milk — are included and genuinely delicious.
The man behind the farm
Adriano Cabrera is a long-time Galápagos resident who built the farm from scratch using traditional methods still in daily use today. His tour is conducted primarily in Spanish but with enough demonstration and enthusiasm to transcend language barriers, and some staff members speak English.
The atmosphere is casual and unhurried — visitors consistently describe it as a highlight that offers a completely different side of the archipelago from the wildlife cruises and snorkelling tours.
Planning your visit
El Trapiche sits about 20 minutes north of Puerto Ayora by taxi and works perfectly as a first stop on a highlands day before continuing to Los Gemelos or Garrapatero Beach. Allow around 90 minutes for the full tour and tasting session.
Roasted coffee beans, artisan chocolate and small bottles of sugarcane spirit are available to buy at reasonable prices — excellent, genuinely local souvenirs that you won't find in Puerto Ayora's souvenir shops.
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