Description
The Pekoe black tea is produced only from the second leaf of the plants’ bud. Although it is less aromatic than the Orange Pekoe, its flavour is even more intense. Its leaves are harvested from mid-April until June following the harvest of Orange Pekoe when the leaves are more mature although still young. The result is a dark copper colored tea ideal to be enjoyed during the morning and for those who prefer their tea with a drop of milk.
About Gorreana:
Gorreana Tea recognized internationally as a "world class" tea is Europe's oldest ,and currently only, remaining Tea plantation. Family owned and operated since 1883, when Ermelinda Gago da Câmara and her son José Honorato opened the factory selling the first production of teas under the Gorreana name.
Grown hundreds of miles away from industrial pollution in the lush emerald green hills of the Gorreana estate in the Atlantic island of São Miguel (Azores) without the use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides dyes or preservatives and harvested fresh every April to September with a large celebration at the peak of the annual harvest, Gorreana's single estate organic green & black teas have been in continued production since 1883. A legacy of fine gourmet teas, all handpicked and produced pesticide free for 130 years, Gorreana's teas have remained a staple in European pantries for over a century.
Indeed, the rare teas that the Gorreana tea estate and plantation have been producing in the Azores have been a European favorite ever since the art of tea cultivation was introduced in the Azores by two Chinese tea experts in September 1874. The culture and passion for tea quickly spread from European houses of Royalty to working classes where the European teas from the Azores were received with great excitement and fanfare all over the world.
Visited annually by tens of thousands, Gorreana's boutique, factory and museum located in the county of Ribeira Grande is the perfect place to enjoy a cup of fresh picked tea while admiring the original 'Marshalls' machinery that dates back to the 1840's. The scent of fresh tea and exotic flowers alongside sweeping ocean views is a paradise just as rare as our tea that owes its unique characteristics to our climate, the PH of our argillaceous soil acid and rich in minerals and, of course, the sea breeze that falls on the plantations as well as the artisan farming methods still in use in Gorreana. Those are the main reasons why, for over a century, the only place in Europe where tea is grown is here in Gorreana plantations in the luxurious island of São Miguel (Azores).
Nowadays Gorreana’s plantation covers 32 acres and presently produces about 33 tons per year. A small portion is destined for the Azorean market since the rest is exported to mainland Portugal, Germany, USA, Canada, Austria, France, Italy, Brazil, Angola, Japan, and many other countries that value quality above all.
