Supermarket regulars say buy tea in town, not at MRU
Spice and Tea Shop sits airside in T1, mixed in with the general souvenirs near the main international gates. It leans on big-name Mauritian themes: vanilla pods, locally packed black tea, flavoured sugars, and curry mixtures stacked in gift boxes. You’ll see the same “Made in Mauritius” labels people talk about in Facebook threads, just with airport markups layered on top.
Opening hours typically track long-haul banks in T1, roughly covering the late-night Europe departures and daytime regional flights, so you’ll usually find it open from early morning to close to the last Air Mauritius and Emirates departures. Expect small spice packets and tea tins starting around €5–€7 equivalent, with fancier box sets climbing quickly beyond €15. That lines up with the “very expensive” airport comments compared with Winners or London Way supermarkets in town.
Locals online call out supermarket buys like Bois Chéri tea, vanilla, and special sugars as better value, and you’ll see near-identical brands here in pre-packed gift formats. If you need a last-minute present and don’t care about paying extra, the smaller tea samplers and compact vanilla tubes make most sense; bulky wooden presentation boxes just eat into both your carry-on space and your budget. Fresh-looking loose spices are thinner on the ground than boxed mixes.
Watch out for multi-item gift packs priced only in MUR with no euro conversion on the shelf; double-check on your phone so you don’t blow Rs 1,000–1,500 by accident. Card is widely accepted, but terminal Wi‑Fi can be patchy around T1’s central shops, so screenshot your exchange rate before you leave the lounge. One practical move: photograph any supermarket tea or vanilla you liked earlier in the trip and compare labels here to avoid paying more for the same thing.