Coffee, vanilla and honeybees – A Creole cottage in Mauritius

The guesthouse Le Coteau Fleurie is situated not far from the natural spectacle of the coloured earth in Chamarel. Here Geneviève Fleurié and her husband Gérard live in a spacious Creole cottage which offers five guestrooms. The guests are welcomed personally and shepherded with care, so that Le Coteau Fleurie becomes their home away from home.

Geneviève Fleurié was born on the neighbouring island La Réunion and loves nature. Thus you will find a large variety of tropical plants in her garden. She is very proud of her coffee plantation, which is the only one in Mauritius. She cultivates Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is known to be the premium cultivar. It offers a better taste and a lower concentration of caffeine than the more heat resistant and faster growing cultivar Robusta. After the harvest the coffee is processed in Case Noyale, a small village in proximity of Le Coteau Fleurie. Thus the guest can enjoy his coffee in the morning with a view on the plantation it was grown on.

A very time-consuming hobby of Geneviève is the cultivation of vanilla.  Vanilla is derived from orchids and grows as a vine, climbing up an existing tree or other support.  Each flower must be hand-pollinated within 12 hours of opening. The only insect capable of pollinating the blossom is the Melipona, a bee, native only to Mexico. Thus Geneviève has to check her vanilla daily during bloom and then pollinate it by hand.  The vanilla beans have to been dried for 9 months and can then be used as a flavoring.

In the garden of the guesthouse Le Coteau Fleurie the guest can discover further interesting agricultural crops, such as geranium from which perfume is produced, or the palmist palm tree, the principal ingredient of the millionaire’s salad. In a kitchen garden you find a large variety of vegetables. Apiculture is another hobby of Geneviève Fleurié. Thus, you can also taste her homemade honey during your stay at the guesthouse.

Le Coteau Fleurie is a very special address for friends of nature in Mauritius. Geneviève enjoys taking her guests on a tour of the plantation and the garden and will explain the cultivation and procession of the plants. As Geneviève takes great care of her garden and plantation, she takes care of her guests with the same love and diligence. Discover Mauritius another way!