很多人去印度洋上的法属留尼汪岛是为了火山和冰斗,但如果漏掉了圣皮埃尔附近的咖啡烘焙庄园,那真的会错过岛上最有滋味的一段历史。这个庄园不只是个喝咖啡的地方,它更像是一个占地4公顷的露天博物馆,把留尼汪从1715年至今的农业兴衰全都种在了土里。从圣皮埃尔市中心开车过来大约只需十分钟,路很好找。进门之后你会发现,这里的气息和海边的咸腥味完全不同,空气里满是各种热带植物和烘焙豆子的香气。
说到这片庄园,最让植物爱好者痴迷的是它那900多种热带植物的收藏量。庄园主人的设计思路很有意思,他没把这里弄成死板的科普基地,而是设计了一条时间旅行线路。你从大门进入时,看到的是现代留尼汪最常见的色彩鲜艳的外来花卉,比如色彩夸张的鹤望兰和各种多肉植物。但随着步道往深处走,身边的植物会变得越来越原始,最后你会步入一片完全由留尼汪本地物种组成的森林,那正是人类踏上这片荒岛之前的模样。
走在这条步道上,你会路过茂密的棕榈林和兰花区。这里不仅有两百多种棕榈树,甚至还能看到稀有的口红棕榈。说真的,即使你对植物学一窍不通,也会被那些比人脸还大的安祖花和形态各异的空气草吸引。这条小路总长不算太夸张,但因为信息量太大,走完全程大约需要一个半小时。沿途有一百五十多块讲解牌,详细记录了这些植物如何跨越海洋来到这里,以及它们在当地克里奥尔人生活中的用途。
除了那些好看的花,庄园里还藏着留尼汪人的生活口粮。你会看到挂满果实的荔枝树、芒果树,还有在超市里绝对见不到的冷门品种。这里专门辟出一块区域展示各种香料,比如香草、丁香和肉桂。你会发现,这些植物在历史上曾经比黄金还贵。庄园甚至还原了一个古老的蒸馏器,用来展示如何从这些植物中提取精油。每一个角落都在无声地告诉你,这块土地曾经为法兰西王室贡献了多少昂贵的物资。
聊到庄园的核心,那绝对是被称为红金的尖身波旁咖啡。这种咖啡曾是路易十五的心头好,后来因为产量极低且极难伺候,在十九世纪几乎从岛上销声匿迹。直到2000年初,在一些科研机构和庄园主的努力下,这种有着尖尖豆身的咖啡才重新回到人们的视野。现在,它是全球最昂贵的精品咖啡之一。在庄园里,你可以近距离观察这些咖啡树的生长环境,看看那些果实是如何从青绿色慢慢变成诱人的深红。
钱的问题总得算清楚。尖身波旁之所以贵,主要是因为它对海拔和土壤的要求非常挑剔。在庄园里,你会发现这里的咖啡树修剪得非常整齐。因为这种咖啡抗病性弱,每一棵树都需要人工精细化照料。到了采摘季,工人们必须手工挑选完全成熟的红樱桃,稍微有一丁点瑕疵都会影响最终的口感。现在精品市场上的价格经常能冲到每公斤两百欧元以上,在庄园的咖啡馆里点上一杯成品,价格大约在7到8欧元,这绝对是体验顶级奢侈饮品成本最低的方式了。
这种咖啡最神奇的地方在于它的生理特性。普通阿拉比卡豆的咖啡因含量通常在百分之一点二以上,而尖身波旁竟然只有百分之零点四到零点六。这意味着你下午喝完,晚上照样能睡个好觉。它的口感非常独特,完全没有普通咖啡那种焦苦味,反而带着一种类似柑橘和巧克力的果酸。庄园里展示了这种豆子自1715年从也门引入岛后的演变过程,它在留尼汪独特的火山土壤和微气候下,最终形成了这种全世界独一份的珍稀品种。
想去的朋友一定要注意,庄园不是那种随到随进的普通公园。它在圣皮埃尔的皮埃尔丰德区(Pierrefonds),离那个小机场不远。如果你是自驾,跟着导航走就好,门口有免费的停车场。如果是打算坐公交,那可能得费点劲,建议还是打车或者租车比较省心。到了之后别急着进园,先看看当天的导览计划,这里的导游通常非常有热情,能讲出很多说明牌上没有的家族八卦。
庄园现在的开放时间是周二到周日的上午九点半到下午五点。但要注意,下午三点半售票处就不再卖入场券了。如果你想参加那些口碑极好的深度导览,必须提前预约。通常导览安排在上午十点和下午两点,你得提前发条短信给官方号码告知人数和日期。如果只是想自己随便逛逛,成人票价大约在8欧元左右,包含导览的话则是10欧元上下。钱花得不多,但买到的知识和体验绝对超值。另外,建议出发前去官网确认下最新的开放时间,因为岛上偶尔会有私人活动或者季节性维护。
庄园内的小店确实有咖啡豆出售,包括最核心的尖身波旁。包装通常很精美,非常适合作为高档伴手礼,但价格确实不便宜,通常一百克左右就要几十欧元。小店里还卖一些自产的果酱和香料,这些倒是性价比很高。如果你买得多,记得咨询店员关于海关托运的建议。
虽然庄园里修了步道,但建议还是穿一双防滑的平底鞋,毕竟是4公顷的园区,走下来运动量也不小。由于留尼汪南部光照很强,一定要涂好防晒霜,带上一顶轻便的帽子。庄园里蚊虫虽然不算猖獗,但如果你比较招蚊子,最好还是喷点驱蚊水。走累了可以去吧台坐坐,那里的阴凉处非常舒服。
庄园大部分的导览是以法语为主的,这确实是个小门槛。不过好消息是,你可以租一个中文或者英文的语音导览器,租金大约2欧元。结合园区里的一百五十多个图文并茂的展牌,就算听不懂法文导游的即兴段子,你也能把咖啡的种植逻辑和庄园的历史听个明白。当然,品鉴环节是不分国界的,那杯咖啡入喉时的香气谁都能懂。
Alex Penfold A really nice botanical garden with a vast variety of plants and trees.
Giann Vasquez It was a marvelous experience, a lot more than was expected. The highlight is not just the coffee, but the botanical garden. The garden is big and there is much to see so it's a great go to, if you want to see the plants of La Réunion, or if you're a plant enthusiast. Just, get there a bit early if you want to see everything with time. I took like 2 hours and rushed the ending as it was going to close soon. I wish I was able to see a little more of the coffee part in action, and get more explanation of the process of coffee making. But there were signs to explain some of it. The ladies were really nice and welcoming and even lent me a guide book in English since my french isn't very well. She also came out of her busy work to show me the entrance of the garden and explained to me a little of what to expect. The Self tour was pleasantly worth it. I didn't spend much time at the Cafe but it was nice, spacious, and very affordable. The coffee is very cheap (2.50) compared to an espresso of Bourbon Pointu in other places (8 euros). The creole snacks were very nice as well, and they had 1 euro macarons available. If you visit, take some time to sit down and enjoy more of their refreshing drinks as well. There is also a very nice and complete gift shop where you can buy an array of La Réunion souveniers and lastly, their coffee is available for purchase, at 24 euros, but it's only 100 grams. It does come in a very interesting, traditional package however that makes it a good souvenir as well. I really enjoyed my visit overall.
DT Fun and chill experience, the staff is very friendly, and the coffee great. You can book an auto guide (2 euros) and do the tour at your own pace, or you can book a tour with the group but you'll need to book in advance. The plants are interesting, and the descriptions are not boring. You have 2 large parkings in the domaine.
FABIAN Mitrache In fact is way more than coffee! You will find the creole garden, the spice garden, the exotic flowers garden, the exotic fruits trees garden...all in one place and on top you must taste the coffee, both of them: the bourbon pointu and the bourbon rond! Very different tastes! Great experience!
Alexandra Skotenko Absolutely fantastic place! Such a well organised botanical garden with so many different plants and trees! So beautiful and magical. Totally worth paying a visit. The cafe that works at the place has such a unique variety of drinks. I tried the blue tea, it was so good