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Once upon a time in Houdan… Boldoflorine
“If your liver is teasing you, take Boldoflorine!” »
This little song, which will bring back memories for some, has been broadcast on the airwaves for a long time. It must be said that this “good for the liver” herbal tea has had its heyday! Focus on the former Boldoflorine factory in Houdan.
At the beginning of the XIXe century, a certain Antoine Fouché settled in Houdan and worked in a bistro. He quickly produced his own alcohols and eventually inherited the bistro. It was his son, Jean-Pierre Fouché, who took over from his father and developed a distillery activity, producing Guignolet Houdanais, cider and absinthe grown in the surrounding fields.
But woe… in 1915, absinthe was banned! Production therefore turns to pharmaceutical products and herbal teas. One of them stands out: Boldoflorine, a herbal tea made from boldo and medicinal plants, treats various digestive problems and is enjoying national commercial success. It was Dr René Paul Fouché who created it in the 1930s.
The production of Boldoflorine ceased in Houdan in 1999. But the life of this miraculous herbal tea did not end there, it is now produced by a pharmaceutical laboratory and sold as medicine. The Fouché family, for their part, continues to produce well-being herbal teas, convinced that the beautiful history of Boldoflorine shows the importance of taking care of yourself thanks to plants and herbs.
After several years of abandonment, the old factory was rehabilitated in the early 2000s and became a residential building. But its very particular architecture is visible from afar and has over time become one of the symbols of Houdan.
