The Chá Gorreana tea plantation is a traditional family business with a success story of more than 135 years. It is located on the north coast of the Azores island of São Miguel, the Ilha Verde, in the midst of lush green vegetation. The special microclimate of this region of the island – constant high humidity with frost-free temperatures all year round, plus at least one “shower” daily – is ideal for the tea plant, a Chinese camellia species (“Camellia sinensis”).
The usual plant pests do not exist here – in the middle of the Atlantic – so far. This remoteness of the geographical location has enabled tea cultivation that does not require any pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Troublesome weeds are eaten by goats who – fortunately for us – don’t like tea leaves …
There is also no special protection against the salty Atlantic winds because the tea plant has been able to adapt genetically over time – the plantation has always replanted its own seedlings and not new varieties.
That’s why today we can enjoy an extraordinary tea that people already liked in the 19th century.