Bois Cheri Tea Plantation

Mauritius has earned its reputation as a wildly popular destination among tourists from different parts of the world as it has a lot to offer than just white beaches and turquoise waters. When your mind would question about what more could you possibly explore in this island, Mauritius will surprise you with experiences you can’t imagine as you dig deeper into its geographical spans. Such is the Bois Cheri Tea Plantation of Mauritius.

As you go towards the southern part of the island, just a few kilometres away from Grand Bassin or Ganga Talao, you will find a village named Bois Cheri. Quite surprisingly, it houses a 250-hectare tea factory and museum which is located in the inner parts of the town. It is reputed as the most extensive tea producing estate of the island along with inhibiting a gourmet restaurant and a Bubble Lodge for accommodation purposes. The view from the lodge is just fantastic as it is situated in the midst of nature.

Brief History

The Bois Cheri Tea Plantation was established in the year 1892, and it defined the Mauritians love for tea. When visiting Bois Cheri, you'll find yourself going through the Tea Route - Bois Cheri being the second stop after Domaine des Aubineaux and right before Saint Aubin. The entire route is an authentic journey into Mauritius? history in tea production. Founders Le Breton and Messrs Bour started the Bois Cheri Company, making it the first large-scale tea plantation in Mauritius which now produces over 700 tonnes of tea each year and 25% of the production is used for exporting.

Museum and Factory

The Bois Cheri tea plantation has become very famous among the visitors as it offers you a tour of the entire property. It begins with the visit to the small museum where you can find information related to the history of tea in Mauritius, and you get to learn a lot about the whole process of tea production and furthermore, you get to see the old machines that were used for tea production.

Amidst the exhibition of the old machinery, there is an old train locomotive, and it represents the usage of rails by the British to transport well to different parts of the island. In 1968, after Mauritius gained independence, the locomotive was brought to the tea plantation by the owners, and it was used as a passenger transport between Port Louis and Curepipe for some time before being transformed into a boiler.

There are some small illustrators on the walls of the museum which tell the story of tea in Mauritius right from its arrival to the island from China in 1768, and other explanations regarding how tea is supposed to be planted and harvested along with the actual production. Other sections have facts about the introduction of sugar and milk to tea and benefit of drinking tea. In addition to that, you can also watch a small documentary including all these information.
Moving on, you are taken to the tea factory, and with some luck, you can watch the full-fledged tea production and see the machines working in harmony. The production works begin in the morning and go on until the daily workload is done with. The factory is not that big in its dimensions, and yet it has all the necessary machines and processes that are essential for tea production, like drying, wilting and packing. The guide will take you through the entire process in a detailed manner.

The Bois Cheri tea factory produces both the black tea and the green tea. A long range of flavoured tea is also produced, namely vanilla tea, cardamom, coconut, bergamot and other exotic fruit flavours. The tour to the museum and the factory head out every 30 minutes, carried out by the very knowledgeable staff members fluent both in English and French.

Tea Tasting in Cafe and Lunch at Le Bois Cheri Restaurant

After you are done with the tour of the factory, you are invited for a tea tasting. It's a 1.7-kilometre drive away from the estate that heads to a cafe. You get a chance to taste all the tea flavours, and you can also choose to buy some eatables like waffles and pancake to enjoy your cup of tea with. The cafe is also home to a small shop from where you can buy the different types of tea and other products from the nearby estates ? candles from Domaine des Aubineaux and rum from Saint Aubin Rum estate.


The Le Bois Cheri restaurant stands adjacent to the cafe. It's an indoor seating restaurant with the most soothing panoramic view of the entire southern coast of Mauritius complemented by the endless range of lush green vegetation. The Mauritian style chicken with vanilla tea sauce is a must try the speciality of theirs, and it is the perfect spot to have lunch after the tour of the museum and factory.

A visit to the Bois Cheri Tea Plantation adds a whole other dimension to your visit to Mauritius with its rustic country landscape, the freshness of the tea plantations and enjoy a relaxed time with your friends and family while enjoying the breathtaking coastal views and a cup of the fine Mauritian tea!