Tea for Two - Bois Cheri Tea Factory

Before we headed off on our accidental tour of the national park, we had intended to visit the Bois Chéri Tea Factory, the first tea plantation in Mauritius, dating back to 1892. We were obviously sidetracked, but we decided to make the one-hour bus trip again, now that we had the route figured out. We were advised to visit early in the day as most of the “action” takes place in the morning when freshly picked tea is brought in, machines are in operation and the workers are busy doing tea processing things.

bpis cheri tea factory

We arrived around 0930 and joined a tour immediately. The entry fee of 500 Rps ($17 ea) seemed a bit steep, in our estimation. The guided tour lasted about 20 minutes and provided information about tea processing from picking to withering to cutting, fermentation, sorting and packaging. It's a small operation and although machines are used, the processing is still extremely labor intensive.

processing tea at bois cheri

There was a small one-room “museum” which offered a bit about the history of tea and its arrival in Mauritius. There used to be several plantations, but now only a couple. Mauritius can't compete with world markets. What they grow now is primarily for domestic use and small export quantities to Reunion Island and France.

tea museum at bois cheri

We always learn something new though. For instance, the Chinese are credited with discovering and developing tea as a beverage as early as 3000BC. Originally used as a medicinal drink, tea later evolved into a culture all its own. Lu Yu, is considered the Sage of Tea, having written The Classic of Tea (in Chinese Ch'a Ching – really?), around 760 AD, the first definitive work on cultivating, making and drinking tea. The Portuguese picked it up while visiting China and they brought it to the UK. Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world next to water and the Irish are the biggest tea consumers per capita in the world. An Irish-American, Thomas Sullivan, is credited with inventing and patenting the first tea bag.

lu yu

The highlight of the tour was supposedly the tea tasting in the tea room which happened to be about 2km from the factory along a beautiful country road, lined with trees and flowers. The tour guides were rather perplexed that we arrived by bus instead of with a tour group or taxi and were on foot. We happily walked to the tea room. We passed by several tea fields. Tea pickers, women stooped over and intent, were still at work, choosing only the tiny, tender tea leaves for picking.

bois cheri tea picker

The tea bushes were so close to the side of the road, it was easy to examine them pretty closely. We observed the flowers and the seeds as well as the lush, shiny green leaves themselves.

tea leaves and flower at bois cheri

We always see so much more when we walk. Waxy red, pink and white anthurium bloomed in the damp glades. Ornamental pineapple, pandanus palms and fern trees lined the road as we got closer to the tea house. We saw a herd of deer, lazing and grazing in a meadow. The smell of gardenias and jasmine perfumed the morning air. It was delightful.

deer herd at bois cheri

We turned a corner and the lake and the tea house came into view, a lovely sight despite the overcast sky. They claim in ancient times, this was a volcanic crater.

view of bois cheri

Once we reached the tea house, our vantage point from the top of the hill allowed us to see for miles in all directions.

view from bois cheri

The tea tasting was great. Twelve teas were set out on the table and hot water was brought in a tea pot to our table along with sweet biscuits (cookies), milk and raw sugar. It was a lovely presentation. We tried plain black tea, then vanilla flavored, coconut flavored, tropical fruit (yuck), bergamot (Earl Grey) and a myriad of green teas. We sampled most of them and paid later on in the day when we needed to pee every half hour. Not good when you're traveling on a local bus.

tea tasting at bois cheri

The restaurant at Bois Cheri is just lovely. The food is gourmet and they utilize local produce including tea as inspiration for their culinary creations. I had crevettes (shrimp) in a traditional Mauritian red sauce served with a hearts of palm salad and saffron rice with pine nuts. Delish! David had medallions of roast duck with a honey tea sauce, salad and a potato puree that was out of this world. We tried the specialty ti punch made with local rum, cane sugar syrup and limes. For dessert, we had bananas flambee again with local vanilla bean ice cream. The waiter brought us a sample of the local vanilla rum as a complimentary after-dinner drink. A most memorable meal.

great meal at bois cheri

After such a great meal, the 2km walk back was most welcome. We chatted amiably, holding hands as we sauntered along the road, taking in the views and watching the world go by.

One cuppa, two cuppa, three cuppa, more

I'm not sure why, but on the boat I'm a tea drinker. In the States, I drank coffee pretty much all the while I was there and never thought twice about it. Perhaps, because everyone in the family drinks coffee; it's there, the Mr. Coffee is always ready to brew and it's just more convenient. David drinks coffee on every continent. But me, as soon as I step foot back on the boat, I put on the kettle for a cuppa and it's always tea. The problem I'm finding is that with the cooler weather here and my new writing projects, I'm sipping tea all day long. I'm usually up early and have my first cup before 0600 and then it's constant throughout the day. Heat the kettle, make a cup of tea and … the cup is empty again. I don't even remember drinking it all; it's just gone. My usual morning tea is regular old Lipton black although Earl Grey with its distinctive bergamot addition is a real eye-opener. I take it “white”, that is, with milk.

Australians drink tea...probably as much tea as Americans drink coffee. They stock Lipton in the supermarkets. Dilmah from Sri Lanka claims to be 100% Ceylon tea and is a popular brand here. Twinings makes an Australian Afternoon Tea that I have yet to try, but plan to. Lord knows I drink tea well into the afternoon. In fact, sometime I'm sipping my last cup as David is pouring the evening glass of wine. Interesting to note, if an Australian invites you to “tea”, it usually means a dinner invitation, not just a cuppa.

There are definitely lots of teas to choose from, no matter where we are. There's Perfect Tea from Papua New Guinea and there are Indian teas and Chinese teas available. I always judge the local population's interest in a particular food by the amount of shelf space that is allotted to it in a big supermarket. Tea definitely takes up a lot of shelf space in Woolworths and Coles here. My favorite tea from New Zealand was Black Adder, a strong anise tea that really made my taste buds stand at attention. It's got a huge snake on the front of it, but I like it anyway. South Africa offered their native rooiboos tea, but I was never able to acquire the taste for it. I never got into Argentina's bitter maté either. And then of course, there was coca tea in Peru, but we won't get into that.

We visited Celestial Seasonings Tea while we were in Colorado last summer. We enjoyed their free tour and stocked up on herbal teas. I love their “zingers”. Tart and tangy lemon, mango, acai, cranberry, raspberry. It's evidently hibiscus that gives their teas the “zing”. Bengal Spice is a wower. I'm not content with a “hint” of anything. I like whatever flavor I choose to be full strength. If it's cinnamon and clove...let me have it. And then, of course, there's the Celestial Seasonings artwork, quotes and interesting trivia on the box. Always a lift-me-up as I'm downing my fifth cup.