The smallest coffee producer in the world.
- In addition to the Arabica coffee introduced during colonization, there are wild growing Coffea species:
- C. mauritiana: also called Café maron, rarely grows in Mauritius.
- C. macrocarpa: a small shrub with thick leaves and elongated very large coffee cherries.
- C. bernardiniana
- C. myrtifolia: 7-8 tall shrubs with small leaves.
- The Chamarel coffee bushes were introduced by French settlers over 200 years ago.
- Since 1967, Café de Chamarel is the only coffee grown on Mauritius.
- The Arabica plants grow on 280 m altitude in the southwest of the island on the volcanic soil together with bananas, pineapple, lychees, papaya and Co.
- Pesticides are not used.
- Only coffee cherries with optimal ripeness are harvested by hand from May to September and wet-processed
- The annual production of the 16 ha of cultivated land is equivalent to 10,000 tons coffee.
- After drying, the coffee is roasted on site by 2 roasters at 180 °C to 200 °C.
- The coffee is balanced with aromas of cocoa and citrus notes.
- Café de Chamarel is produced almost exclusively for its own use on Mauritius.
- However, green coffee is also imported from countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, roasted and sold, such as Café la Fournaise.
☕ Preparation
The largest population of Hindus prefer their sweet, milky tea, as well as the Creoles and Chinese. The Francos swear by their coffee.
Coffee is usually drunk Turkish – hot water is poured over the ground coffee in the cup. Then you wait until the coffee grounds have settled before you drink it.
Coffee