My Tea Break

Rediscovering Tea around the world

Category Archives: Tea Plantations


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Bai Hao Oolong Tea

Bai Hao Oolong is a famous Oolong Tea from Taiwan. The name Bai Hao refers to the appearance of the Tea leaves which are mostly dark in color but ends with a silvery tip. This Tea is also known as Dong Fang Mei Ren or Oriental Beauty, a name given by Queen Elizabeth II when she tasted this Tea for the first time.

This Tea is known by its sweet fruity flavour but the processing of this Tea is even more interesting. This Tea is made not only by man but also by insects. Yes… Insects…  The farmers wait that some tiny green flies attack the Tea leaves before harvest. The Tea leaves that were bitten by the green flies will change into a yellow colour and the Tea leaves produce an antibody which gives its characteristic fruity flavour. Only the damaged leaves can be selected which makes it an incredibly labour intensive process from start to finish.

There are many stories about the origin of Bai Hao Tea. According to one Taiwanese Tea book, a Tea farmer in Beipu (Taiwan) noticed that small green insects resembling grasshoppers had damaged the leaves of his newly picked spring crop. Rather than destroying his crop, he decided to process the leaves and was very surprised by its strong sweet fruity flavour.

A truly Oriental Beauty…. 

Happy Tea Break.

Tania


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Glenmorgan Tea Estate

Do you believe in the Six degrees of separation theory? It basically states that anyone  can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances that has no more than five intermediaries. 

Well, I can tell you that I’ve visited Glenmorgan Tea Estate in the Nilgiri Hills and had the pleasure to meet Mr. and Mrs. Vadera through a chain of three intermediaries! My friend and Tea partner Mariana worked with Veronica in London, who’s really good friends with Sonali, whose parents own Glenmorgan Tea Estate and kindly invited me the visit them.

I had less than 24 hours but I knew I couldn’t miss this opportunity and I am so glad I made it. I had the amazing opportunity to meet this wonderful couple who welcomed me to their home as if part of their family, see the amazing views of Nilgiri Hills, a visit to Glenmorgan Tea Estate, tasted a lot of Tea while chatting with Indu and even tasted fried Tea leaves.

The Family History:

Rasik and Indu were born and got married in Uganda. Rasik’s father, a man with a great business vision, had coffee, Tea and sugar cane plantations in Uganda but in 1958 decided to invest in land back in India and bought Glenmorgan Tea Estate which had around 250 acres at the time. During Uganda’s independence in 1962, Rasik and Indu got back to India and started developing Glenmorgan Tea Estate.

Glenmorgan Tea Estate:

India has always been known for Black Tea but in 1969, Glenmorgan Tea Estate started making green Tea to Japan. At the time, everything was done by hand but after a while they imported machinery from Japan. Over a period of time, they developed the market for US and Morocco. Nowadays, their biggest client is Lipton US.

Glenmorgan Tea Estate now has 500 acres, 400 workers (plucking and sorting is all done by female and male work in the factory) and produces around produces 3000 to 4000 kg. of  made Tea per day. Glenmorgan Tea Estate is certified by the Rainforest Alliance which means they follow the three pillars of sustainability — environmental protection, social equity and economic viability.

Rasik showed me all the steps which starts with the plucking, followed by roasting, rolling, rotary drying, sorting and packaging.

When asked about what has changed in the world of Tea during the last years, Rasik explains that interest in Green Tea has increased even in India, where Black Tea is King.

Rasik’s favourite Tea is Glenmorgan. He believes you get used to a particular taste and Glenmorgan green Tea has a light, mellow and smooth taste.

If you’re ever in Southern India I highly recommend that you visit the Nilgiris. The Nilgiris, which literally translates into “Blue Mountains” are located in the state of Tamil Nadu.  The hills are beautiful and are named after a local flowering shrub that blossoms once every twelve years, covering the hills in purple-blue flowers.

I already promised Indu and Rasik that I will be back to Glenmorgan during the next purple-blue flower blossom. :)

Thanks to Mariana, Veronica, Sonali for this introduction and to Rasik and Indu for the amazing experience.

Happy Tea Break.

Tania

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Tea in Portugal – Chá em Portugal

Did you know there is a Tea Plantation in Portugal? To be more exact in the Azores – The Azores are an archipelago of nine islands situated in the mid-Atlantic Ocean and Tea is produced in the island of S. Miguel.

It is believed that Tea was introduced in Azores in 1755, however, it was not until 1820 that initial trials for commercial production started. At the moment, there are two factories still in operation – The Gorreana (founded in 1883) and Porto Formoso (which reopened in 2001). The Gorreana is the larger plantation, of about 50 hectares (equivalent to 124 acres). They mainly produce black Tea, but there is also a limited quantity of green Tea being produced.

The black Tea from Gorreana comes in three different grades: Orange Pekoe, Pekoe and Broken leaf. Their green Tea is known as Hysson.

When you visit Azores, (which is really worth it!), You should organise a Tea Tour to one of the factories. The best time to go is between April and September, where you can see the Tea being processed – witted, rolled, fermented and dried.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the opportunity to visit our Portuguese plantations yet. However, a very good friend visited recently and shared some pictures! Thank you!

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For more information please check their websites: http://www.chaportoformoso.com/

http://www.gorreana.net/

Happy Tea Break,
Mariana!
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Chá em Portugal

Sabia que existe uma plantação de Chá em Portugal? Mais concretamente na ilha de São Miguel nos Açores.

Pensa-se que o Chá foi introduzido nos Açores em 1750. No entanto, só em 1820 se começa a produzir Chá para fins comerciais. Neste momento, existem duas fábricas activas – a Gorreana (fundada em 1883) e a de Porto Formoso (reaberta em 2001). A plantação Gorreana é a maior das duas, tendo cerca de 50 hectares. O Chá produzido é maioritariamente preto, sendo que também se produz uma quantidade limitada de Chá verde.

São produzidos três tipos de Chás preto na plantação Gorreana: Orange Pekoe (preto aromático, com um nível intermediário de Teína), Pekoe (com o maior teor de teína) e Broken leaf (com o menor teor de teína). Relativamente ao Chá verde, a Gorreana produz o Chá verde tradicional e Chá verde especial, que é mais aromático que o primeiro.

Quando for aos Açores, pode organizar uma visita a qualquer uma das plantações. A melhor altura é entre April e Setembro, podendo assistir a todas as fases de produção do chá. Infelizmente ainda não tive a oportunidade de visitar as plantações portuguesas, no entanto, um grande amigo esteve agora nos Açores e mandou-nos umas fotografias. Obrigado!

Para mais informações visite os seguintes websites: http://www.chaportoformoso.com/

http://www.gorreana.net/

Mariana!

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