If you can’t resist a fantastic cup of tea, São Miguel is the ideal destination for your next trip!
The island of São Miguel in the Azores archipelago is pleased to be home to the only two tea plantations in Europe for industrial purposes. Both located in Ribeira Grande, Porto Formoso Tea Factory and Gorreana Tea Factory benefit from the region’s humid climate and rich soil to provide the perfect conditions for tea planting.
Porto Formoso Tea Factory
The Porto Formoso factory was founded by Amâncio Machado Faria e Maia and was in operation from the 1920s to the 1980s. Eventually closed doors and only reopened in 2001.
It is here that the first organic tea in Europe is produced, without fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. This novelty appears in early 2018 and the Factory of Porto Formoso was the first certified on the island of São Miguel and guaranteed organic seal.
Currently, this factory on the north coast of the island of São Miguel organizes the recreation of the traditional tea harvest, with typical costumes, in order to preserve the time when tea had great economic and social relevance in the Azores.
It also has a museum that offers its visitors the chance to watch a short film to learn about the history of the Porto Formoso Tea.
Guided tours are given to those who decide to visit the space and the plantations, with a cup of tea to end the experience in the best way!
Gorreana Tea Factory
It is the oldest tea factory in Europe and its teas are already recognized all over the world. It is part of a family business that spans six generations and has been in operation since 1883.
Nowadays, this factory produces approximately 40 tons of tea annually! A small part is destined for the Azorean market, while the rest is exported to mainland Portugal, Germany, USA, Canada, Austria, France, Italy, Brazil, Angola, Japan, among other countries that increasingly consume Gorreana teas.
The oldest tea plantation in Europe has an area of 32 hectares and in 2011 took possession of the old Azorean factory “Canto”, working from there as a museum allowing its visitors a guided tour to learn about the process of processing tea but also to prove, by tasting the famous Gorreana tea and making a trail through the plantations of about 3km.
If you prefer to taste these typical Azorean teas more conveniently and more often, you can always buy and prepare them in the comfort of our lodgings, what could be better than this?