Bois Cheri Tea Factory

Next stop on our South Island tour in Mauritius was another factory, but this time tea! The Bois Cheri Tea factory was also very interesting & we really enjoyed it



They make tea from these leaves.



We'll add this to the list of things we'd never seen before- tea fields.



There's also a nice little museum area that explains the history of tea, how it became such an integral part of Mauritius and how it's generally harvested and processed.



Again, I was totally fascinated by the mechanics and machinery of the plant that moved tons of pounds of leaves around, dried them, crushed them, and packed them up.



I think it's one of the most popular brands of tea on the island is exported around the world.



They use static electricity on these rollers to purify the tea.



It's hard to tell, but these are bags being filled with tea, having the top folded and then being sealed. It was so fascinating to watch this process fill bag after bag in just seconds.



And here is a tea packet maker- from all the labels being unrolled and made into squares, to the cloth like pouches being created, then filled with tea to the string weaving in and out, then being sealed and packed into a box- totally fun nerd stuff.



Our last stop of the day was Trou aux Cerfs crater just outside the city of Curepipe. Again, I was expecting something really neat and cool, but it was just a giant hole with a boggy lake in the bottom. There were a few good views around the island from the top, but not really worth the drive IMO.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Mia has gone to the back door a few times & even started barking/jumping/scratching yesterday when she wanted out.