Route du Thé — Local services in Saint Aubin

I expected more from this experience. So essentially you visit a factory, then drive up to another location to have a tea tasting, all included in your ticket. It's a very scenic place if nothing else, so it's worth a visit. The tea tasting is the best part. Buuuut dress warm.

FACTORY:

If you happen to be here in the winter, it is only in production on Wednesdays so that's probably the best day to visit. Not sure if they advertise this information on their website. But they do give you a reduced price on the ticket if you come on other days. The guided tour was repetitive and the tide seemed to be uninterested in being there. He didn't explain how the different machines work. We just heard that the black tea and green tea came from the same leaf about 100,000 times. His french (sorry to say this because my French isn't perfect either) was very difficult to understand. I don't feel like I came away from the factory tour with a good understanding of how the tea making process works. Only that the black tea gets made in the morning, and the green tea in the afternoon. And that green tea will keep you young (scientifically questionable claim, but okay..). And white tea will keep you even more young. We heard about the proportion of production for Mauritian consumption and foreign exports. We heard about the tonnes of raw product and finished product. That's it. I just gave you the tour.

The TASTING Getting into the restaurant is a confusing experience. They really should either have the staff explain how the experience works or have a written panel or brochure on each table to explain that guests can taste each tea on the table. That a staff member will shortly be bringing some hot water and milk. It's just kind of the awkward transition, sitting there wondering if this is the right spot or if the staff forgot about us. We just kinda sat there for 10 mins wondering what's going on.

The ROAD Given this is a heavy tourist attraction, they really should do some work on the road to make it more smooth. Also some layby spots for tourists to park and take pictures along the way without...

Not my first, but perhaps my last. I adore tea and I had to do it again before flying back to Sweden. Despite the heavy rain, we went there and whilst the view and the area are breathtaking, the waiter totally ruined our day. Firstly, he totally ignored us whilst we waited to be seated and needed to go ask him ourselves, then he blatantly refused to set up a newly vacated table which was perfect for 5 and facing the lake. He said it was full of flies (mind you, flies are everywhere there). Then right when we were seated, a couple (tourists) arrived and asked for the same table and they were offered the table without any issue. The waiter was terribly grumpy to locals but extremely polite to foreigners. There wasn't a lot of people (I've been there before when everyone table was occupied) but when another local asked him to take a picture of her family with the view, he said in the most annoyed voice that he was too busy and to ask other guests. It was the worst customer experience I've experienced as a local on vacation. And I spent quite a bit at the shop afterwards on tea and rum. Every customer deserves the same respect. I'm hoping it's an individual issue and not a company policy to treat us...

Unfortunately, the visit to the tea factory was not worth it at all. The museum is absolutely lousy and you don't learn anything about tea harvesting or processing. There are different machines around without explanations. Everything is totally incoherent. When asked if one could look into the production, no one could really answer if and when, although four women were sitting at the reception. Nobody here seems to know their own processes. The tea tasting takes place by the lake on the premises in a different building. The road to get there is a disaster. Only the view of the lake while tasting is quite nice. The taste of the tea is okay, but not amazing. Many flavors are not implemented by natural ingredients. Overall quite a disappointment, especially for the high asking...