
Learn all about tea on Reunion Island, from the tree to the cup.
Learn all about tea on Reunion Island, from the tree to the cup.
A wealth of humanity and plants, a thousand colours packed into a little treasure trove
A walk in the countryside and then end the day on the hot sand by the sea
Le Morne Langevin
For Johny: walking, and for Emmanuelle: singing
For Johny: friture de zendettes, and for Emmanuelle: patte cochon aux bringelles
Patrick Bruel
Today our guide is Yoann, Johnny’s brother. He tells us that on several occasions throughout its history, the Bourbon Island tried to grow tea. Particularly here, in Grand-Coude, but it was all abandoned in 1972. Some tea plants survived on the property, but as they were no longer cut to breast height to make harvesting easier, they grew up to impressive heights.
Rather than cutting them, Johnny had the idea to develop this forest by creating a pathway in the form of a maze. We enter it as the mist settles on the plateau of Grande-Coude. It feels just like Alice in Wonderland, as we wander through a succession of tunnels made from plants trying to find our way.
We meet Yoann again at the end. He takes us into the neighbouring plantation, where the tea plants form lines of small bushes, whose leaves are regularly harvested. Then we visit the old fashioned garden, where delightfully scented plants grow: several species of geranium, including rose geranium, which is distilled to produce a valuable essential oil. We smell the scents of rose, citronella, pepper. A feast for the senses!
The tour of Labyrinthe En Champ Thé ends at the Tea House, a very friendly and particularly well stocked place selling their sometimes very original products such as tea jelly or syrup. There we learn the differences between black, green, white and imperial tea and taste scented cups from the local plants. So much to discover in a single morning!
Share our passion for tea and geraniums
Show people the agricultural history of Grand Coude with our tour
The only place where tea is grown on Reunion Island and in France