Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Boh Tea Plantation and Strawberries!

Previously, I mentioned that our next activity was having high-tea at a high place, literally. What I meant was having high-tea at the picturesque Boh Tea Centre situated at the mountaintop in Cameron Highlands. The entrance to Boh Tea Centre is just opposite the Kea Farm, with a large signboard on the roadside so you won't miss it. However, the drive towards the tea centre is pretty dangerous because the roads are narrow and winding. You have to be careful and remember to use the horn when you round the corners, so that the oncoming cars can be vary. :) Even though the ride in caused me to be slightly quesy, it was all worth it when I was welcomed with scenery such as this!

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Boh tea plantation

Look at how the mountains were covered with green tea leaves all over. Walking across the plantation made me feel so much fresher, not to mention the air was filled with the fragrant smell of fresh tea.

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Tea leaves everywhere

Once we parked our cars, we took a short hike up the hill, to go to the cafe which was situated on the mountain top. The hike up took probably 10-15 minutes, but you get to be up close and personal with tea leaves. Try to smell it if you have the chance!

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Smelling the tea leaves

Further walking up hill would greet you with more scenic landscapes, especially on a good and cool weather.

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Notice the cafe that was situated at the hill top? That was our destination. I liked that the structure jutted out amidst the air. Looks dangerous eh? :)

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Cafe on top

On my hike up, I never failed to be impressed with the awe-inspiring views, snapping pictures whenever possible. There were only tea leaves as far as the eye could see.

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Beautiful scenery

Before long, we reached our destination! Since it was a weekend, the cafe looked full from the outside.

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Boh Tea cafe

Indeed, plenty of tourists stopped by this place to visit the tea plantation and to enjoy a cuppa in the midst of the high mountain. Nothing beats a cup of hot tea in the cold weather with amazing scenery.

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Brisk business

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witch was here

Upon entering the cafe, I saw many different types of cakes, scones and sandwiches available. Of course, not to forget the many types of tea too, coming fresh from the tea centre itself!

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Choices of cakes, sandwiches and scones


We ordered a few types of delicacies to be shared among us, coupled with a pot of aromatic tea. The picture below shoes an apple pie, banana carrot cake, chocolate melt and strawberry tart. I simply loved the chocolate melt! It wasn't too sweet and it was very moist and soft. Not surprisingly, it was the best-selling item that day because by the time we left, the chocolate cake was already sold out! Coming a close second would be the strawberry tart, which was crispy on the outside and yummy inside with delicious fresh strawberry jam.

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High tea at the peak

As for the tea, I am sorry to say that I didn't know how to appreciate Boh tea. I'm more of a green tea type of person. :P But one thing to note though. The cafe sells the tea by tea pots for 1, 2 or 3 persons. However, the size of the tea pot for 1, 2 or 3 persons is the same! What is more ridiculous is that once you finish the tea, refill of hot water costs RM1.50 each! We ordered the 3 persons portion and the tea pot was almost empty after pouring into 3 cups. So not worth it eh? My advice would be to order individual 1-person pot instead for each person, because the price is the same (RM3.30 for 1 person, RM9.90 for 3 persons). At least that way, you get to have more tea per person.

Before retiring to our hotel to rest, we stopped by a strawberry farm just outside of Equatorial hotel. It's called Life Light strawberry farm. As with many other strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands, this one allows the customers to pick their own strawberries before purchasing them.

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Lifelight strawberry farm

Inside the shop there were several stalls selling fruits and sweets.

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Stalls at strawberry farm


We paid a visit to the strawberry picking area just to see the strawberries. In my opinion, the strawberries were not that attractive and they were pretty small. Of course, I saw a big one here and there, but the majority was minute! That's why we ended up not going in to pick. I believe the section for picking has lower quality strawberries compared to those they pack for sale. Most people want to pick strawberries just for the fun of it and don't really care about the quality. :)

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Strawberry picking section

And that ended my first day in Cameron Highlands. Needless to say, we were all exhausted at the end of the day, after so much walking and climbing. Thankfully, the weather was kind to us and there was no rain at all. I simply love the high-tea experience at the Boh Tea Centre and I highly recommend it to everyone who intends to visit Cameron Highlands. :)

7 comments:

ablogaway said...

Hmmm... I think I went to a different Boh Tea plantation then... it was quite further down on the way to Ringlet.
As for the strawberry picking near EQ, we actually went in there and managed to get really big strawberries. It's rather inside, actually. Sze Yi enjoyed it very much too!

Borneo Falcon said...

The greens really soothe my tiring eyes

Irenelim said...

Wow, the green scenery is so beautiful!

J2Kfm said...

love the tranquility, away from the city, and the bustling lifestyle.

this is a MUST-visit, for camwhoring and for the experience of tea time above the clouds ... ok, a bit exaggerated, but still, i never failed to visit the Boh Palas plantation.

foongpc said...

I can see that the weather is very cooling and comfortable. Coupled with the amazing greeneries, it's too tempting not to go there!

As for the tea sold by the cafe, I agree it's totally ridiculous that the size of the teapot for 1 and 3 persons is the same. Doesn't make sense, does it?

Kim Ong said...

Wow, your pics are amazing!!! I miss it there...

iamthewitch said...

Irene: Oh I didn't go so far to Ringlet. How was the plantation there? Glad that your daughter enjoyed the strawberry-picking process. It must have been fun! :)

Borneo Falcon: Scientists recommend that we look at greens often to relax the eyes. ;)

Irenelim: Yes, and very cooling too! :)

J2Kfm: Too bad the tea place is getting commercialized and it's beginning to get crowded. So probably won't get the tranquility that you once experienced. :)

foongpc: The green scenery really soothes the eyes all right. Plus where else can you get cool weather and fresh air in Malaysia eh? Yes, now I know how to order the tea!

Kim Ong: Thank you Kim! :)