The modern Mauritian economy is built on two pillars: tourism, which we are actively and enthusiastically contributing to by the mere act of visiting and sugar cane cultivation, which among its infinite uses is primarily used in making rum (spelt, rhum locally. Having checked the first pillar off our to do list, it made the most sense to explore the second pillar by visiting two distilleries: Rhumerie de Chamarel and Saint Aubin.

Going on a Rhum

Sugar cane was introduced to the island by the Dutch in the early 17th century very shortly after it became inhabited and has flourished ever since. Nearly a third of the island is covered in sugar cane but feels much more ubiquitous because you see it everywhere. In fact, when we arrived on the island, after introductions, our driver pointed to his left and identified it for us and it’s purpose. Odds are, if you look out the window and you don’t see beach, jungle or ocean, you’re staring at sugar cane. For my Nebraska folks, if you replace the cornfields with sugar cane, you’d have the same affect.

Although we toured two separate distilleries, the process between the two were very similar with small differences in fermentation/distillation times, equipment and with what they infuse it.

Two varieties of sugar cane are usually grown, red and white with the only difference between the two being the color of the main stalk. These stalks are cut by hand between July and December, trimmed and then processed. Using heavy steel mechanical hammers, the stalks are crushed three times in order to produce the maximum amount of juice that is ran into a 20,000 liter (4.4k gallon) vat where yeast is added to make the base sugar cane wine. This wine is distilled twice in 2,000 liter (440 gallon) batches to ensure quality and clarity of the alcohol before being bottled (for basic white rum) or put in casks (for gold or aged rum). Nothing from the plant goes to waste, where the remnants of the juiced sugar cane (bagasse) is used as fuel for electricity or as fertilizer for the field.

Naturally any rum tour ends with a tasting of the varieties that the distillery and there’s no exception for us, even though we toured Rhumerie de Chamarel at 9:30 in the morning. These distilleries not only produce classic and gold rum, but also liqueurs infused with local fruit such as pineapple and lychee and my personal favorite, vanilla. Rum tasting concluded the guided tour and after the nine or so shots, we were confident we experienced the full fledged flavor they had to offer.

Bois Cheri – Tea Extraordinaires

While sugar cane and rum production are significant industries here, Mauritius does vary their agricultural production to both tea and vanilla. Bois Cheri is the flagship tea plantation and factory for the island, so much so, all the local shops and our hotel keep it on hand for daily tea. Located in the south side of the island in a town, unsurprisingly, called Bois Cheri, they began production in 1892 and operate on 250 hectares of land. Yea was first introduced into the island in the mid 18th century after a local priest brought back the first tea plant after visiting China.

Tea plants like the plantation where crews walk the fields in the morning to hand harvest by identifying then three youngest tea leaves on the branch into bags which are then combined to begin the production process. These leaves are first crushed, fermented in large vats and then dried before either bagged and boxed or infused with select flavors, such as lemongrass, ginger, exotic fruits and of course, vanilla. Similar to the sugar cane, nothing goes to waste with the remnants also being used for fertilizer.

So to recap, the rum and tea produced in Mauritius are both infused with vanilla and as it just so happens, the island also produces is own vanilla plants, however not nearly enough to meet the demand of the local businesses. Just south of Bois Cheri is the Saint Aubin Vanilla plantation which was spun up to fulfill the vanilla needs of the tea factory. Vanilla, as it turns out, isn’t an ordinary crop. Ever wonder why real vanilla is so expensive? It’s because the orchid that produces it doesn’t naturally pollinate so the crew at St Aubin have to manually do it themselves. Nine months after pollination, the pods are harvested, scalded and steamed to stop ongoing growth, and stored in a wool blanket to increase the enzymatic activity that produce the signature color and fragrance. After storages they are then dried and refined for 2-6 months before they are ready to be used. Luckily, St Aubin sells their pods where Lauren and I were able to score delicious vanilla at an incredible price. If you plan on visiting us, odds are I’ll be serving something with vanilla….for the next few years.

Travel/Post Details:

• Post includes activities from May 17-May 18, 2023
• Featured Image – the Bois Cheri tasting room overlooking their lake and tea field
• Accommodation – Lakaz Chamarel (Piton Canot Suite)
• Summertimes arranged tour on May 18: ‘Charms and Flavors’. tour group consisted of mainly French tourists with one other British couple. Brit bloke worked for a plastics company and traveled to Rogers, AR for Walmart. We also visited the Les Aubineaux Colonial house and La Vanille Nature Park, neither worth mentioning in post.
• Dinner on May 18th included an Asian buffet with local music and audience participation that was unexpected.
• Lauren did not throw up driving through the mountains on our way to or from Lakaz!