la azotea cultural center

We have visited coffee farms before, but have never learned as much about coffee as we did here. We had an opportunity to taste beans and to sample coffee. The museum next door offered an interesting insight into the history of Mayan music.

What a pleasant surprise to find such a well-done museum neighboring Antigua. It was great to read about the history of coffee and the processing of coffee (in English for me and Spanish for my wife) and then see the coffee being processed right there and seeing the coffee trees as well. The museum of Mayan music was really more than just that, as it involved aspects of history and culture as well. We were very happy that we made the time to visit La Azotea and will recommend it to others.

Nice way to understand the history of Guatemala. It's self guided. There are Mayan music and dance performances. A real working coffee farm. This is a little way out (too long to walk) but a Tuk Tuk can take you. Word of warning... make sure you ask the Tuk Tuk to come pick you back up at a specific time. Not easy to catch a ride back. Would have to do a good hike to get back to a main street. I would allow 1 - 1 1/2 hours here.

My husband, adult daughter and I took the tour at La Azotea in Nov. 2014. We chose to do the self-guided tour rather than the official one. There is a good handout that explains each exhibit, plus all the exhibits are in English in addition to Spanish. I had no idea it took so many beans to make one cup of coffee. The tour also shows the difference between shade grown and "not" shade grown coffee; it goes into a bit of the politics of coffee; plus all the other steps needed to get from bean to grounds. You can also take a walk around their grounds to see all the coffee plants in their various stages of growth. Plus there is a greenhouse full of beautiful tropical flowers. Since our daughter lives in Guatemala and is very familiar with public transportation, we took a chicken bus from Antigua to La Azotea. All part of the fun. It's definitely worth a couple of hours.

Very pleasurable walk into the center. The gardens are very pretty. They explain the coffee processing in clear placards. The museum is interesting with old musical instruments, some Native garb, and artifacts. You can sample the coffee- and it is delicious! I'd give it a "thumbs up".

I read about this place in a guidebook, so hopped a tuktuk from Antigua and went. Entry fee is 50Quetzales, and I found it quite worthwhile. It's like a little haven in the middle of a town... there is an equestrian center next door or connected??? and fields of horses greeted us after coming in the front gate. There is a nice Coffee museum with diaramas, and displays in both english and spanish...plus videos with additional languages. And the coffee plantation is right there, and working,,,so you can actually see some of the work...including how they bag it. You can wander into the coffee fields as well! And, of course, there is a gift shop for coffee...prices not much different than elsewhere.In addition to the coffee museum, there is an outdoor exhibit of some of the regional areas of Guatemala with lifesize samples of how the people in those areas live.There is also a music museum, with a video of local festivals....quite extensive! With another giftshop as well.All in all , a lovely afternoon there! Very peaceful and interesting. They are supposed to have a free shuttle from the Parque Central, but never found it... so, make sure you have a ride back...or wander into the little town.

Very good exhibition. The place is well-preserved, the signs are clear and interesting. There is several unique pieces of coffee pots and spoons - very nice collection of the owner.

We really enjoyed the coffee tour. It was well organized and informative. The tour is only given in Spanish, but the guide spoke clearly and slowly. Most of the information was translated into English on the accompanying displays. After the coffee tour you can explore the nursery, a music museum and a clothing museum, all very interesting. Easy to spend a few low-key hours here.There is an infrequent shuttle from Parque Central but it was easier to take a tuc-tuc. Beware of tuc-tuc prices. One driver charged Q40 ("it's so far away") and the next Q15. It's a 5 minute ride from the central market.

My only negative is the cafe was not open, so we couldn't enjoy a restful lunch there. Otherwise, the museum centers continues to improve. It is a must when visiting Antigua.

Great gardens and a lot of information about coffee. Nice place to take a quiet walk and enjoy the beautiful well kept gardens. We spend some time watching a horse back riding lesson at the stable and talking to the instructor.

of this coffee plantation...they give the tour then offer u cooffee to taste and buy if u want. i learned taht the famous mexican liquor kalhua is made out of the red coffee beans skin....

I was going expecting the coffee tour - I didn't expect the music museum, too. It was a fascinating history of local music as well as the history of coffee and how it's made in Guatemala. And the coffee is great, too. Well worth a trip there if you're near Antigua.

Interesting, well-presented history to present day production of coffee in Guatemala, combined with museums of musical instruments and traditional clothing. Though not advertised when we bought our tickets, a woman found us when we entered the music museum and gave us a guided tour, demonstrating all the different instruments. Very interesting. Took a Tuk tuk there, much cheaper than a cab. Is about a 15 minute drive.

This place is cultural center and a coffee farm. The coffee tour was so interest I learn exactly how the coffee was discovered and were it started. I did not any of that. ameizing

Our group of avid coffee drinkers enjoyed this place immensely! We learned more about coffee than one can imagine. We took a guided tour (nominal entrance fee) and then enjoyed a delicious cup of complimentary coffee. The gift shop had wonderful little items with everything under the sun pertaining to chocolate and coffee. There's no sense going to Guatemala without learning about Antigua coffee-the best of the best!