Text by Sharon McDonnell
Photography Courtesy of Azores Promotion Board, visitazores.com
Treasure in the Azores
The oldest continuously operating tea plantation in Europe is in the Azores, a chain of nine volcanic islands in the Atlantic that are part of Portugal, yet 900 miles west of the mainland. A wondrous, pristine place packed with odd surprises, the islands abound in steep coastal cliffs, checkerboards of emerald-green pastures, jewel-like lakes in collapsed volcano craters, hot springs, waterfalls, and misty landscapes. In May, blue and pink hydrangeas blanket the islands. Despite its seeming remoteness, the Azores is actually the closest part of Europe to the United States—a mere 5-hour flight from Boston (or a 2 1⁄2-hour flight from Lisbon) to Ponta Delgada, the largest city, on São Miguel, the biggest island.
From purple tea to pineapple farms, from meals cooked underground by hot springs to jewelry and art made from fish scales, dyed, sewn with gold or silver thread, and often set with pearls into flower shapes (a craft called escamas de peixe), the Azores can be expected to serve up the unexpected. It’s no surprise they were named Europe’s leading adventure travel destination in 2021 in the World Travel Awards, not to mention the world’s second most appealing islands for unspoiled serenity by The National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations.
Founded in 1883 on the north coast of São Miguel, Chá Gorreana grows green and black tea without pesticides, producing approximately 40 tons of tea per year. Former orange farmer Ermelinda Gago da Câmara and her son, José Honorato, opened the tea factory on 32 acres that year. Today, visitors can walk the tea fields and Japanese cedar forest nearby while admiring Atlantic Ocean views, watch tea being processed in the factory, and tour its museum, all for free. Then, they can relax in its shop and sip tea in the café. Water from a stream on its land has powered equipment since its founding. Gorreana’s original equipment, made in the United Kingdom well over a century ago, like a tea grader from Belfast, is still used.
