Smelling sweet: Puerto Rico announces Coffee Zone tourism attraction
Last updated 9/17/2008 12:16:15 AM
There are plans to broaden international awareness of Puerto Rico’s historic and once again burgeoning coffee industry
Sensual Caribbean destination Puerto Rico has added agrotourism in
addition to tropical beaches and salsa dancing as tourism attraction.
Executive director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), Terestella González Denton, on behalf of Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, has announced that 10 historic coffee plantations, known as haciendas, will form part of the island’s newly designated Coffee Zone following certification by the Department of Agriculture and the PRTC.
The plantations are in the towns of Jayuya, San Sebastian, Ponce, Adjuntas, Las Marías and Lares. González Denton also introduced a new seal of quality for the island’s coffee.
“Puerto Rico’s coffee growers are now an integral part of our agrotourism offering as they will welcome tourists to their plantations and offer them an authentic experience,” said Gonzalez Denton.
One example is Hacienda San Pedro in Jayuya, which was founded in the 19th century and boasts its own line of coffee that is 100% Arabica, 100% ripe, planted, harvested and processed by Puerto Rican workers.