Learntravelfarming
The Panama cacao calendar: harvests, fairs and when to visit
Month by month: when the pods ripen, when the fermentation boxes are full, when the Bocas Showcolate Fair happens, and when to stay away.
Cacao fruits all year, but not evenly. If you want to see Panama’s cacao at its busiest, or avoid the mud, here is the year as it plays out in Bocas del Toro, with notes for the drier Pacific regions.
January
Tail of the main harvest. Fermentation boxes still full, drying beds crowded, and in Bocas the rain is finally easing. Good month to visit.
February – April
Dry season on the Pacific side; Bocas gets its least-wet weeks. Trees rest, farms prune, growers graft. Fewer pods, but the clearest skies and best boat days. Boquete’s fairs and the flower festival bring Bocas growers to Chiriquí with tables of bars.
May – July
The secondary flush. Trunks covered in tiny pink-white flowers, then small green pods. A smaller harvest in June and July. Quiet, green, and a good time for a slow farm visit with fewer visitors.
August
Rain returns to the Caribbean. The tasting and training season: in 2026 the first certified chocolate tasting course in the country ran in Changuinola in the last week of August.
September
Pods colouring up. Growers repair dryers before the deluge. Prices and planning conversations peak.
October
Harvest proper begins, and the Bocas Showcolate Fair, held every year since 2019, brings growers, makers, researchers and chocolate lovers together in Bocas del Toro in the first days of the month. The eighth edition on 3 October 2026 was themed “Cacao: ancestral knowledge, living science”.
November – December
Peak harvest and peak rain. Every farm is cutting, fermenting and fighting to dry beans. The most alive time to visit, and the wettest. Bring a jacket and patience.
The short version
| Want | Go |
|---|---|
| See the full process in motion | October to January |
| The fair and the whole cacao community | First week of October |
| Dry weather and a calmer farm | February to April |
| Flowers on the trunks | May to June |
| Taste bars from many makers in one place | Boquete fairs, dry season; Casco Viejo any time |
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One letter a month from a cacao farm in Bocas del Toro: harvest news, new makers, tours worth booking, and what we are learning about Panama’s cacao. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
