Chá Camélia, in northern Portugal, is one of a handful of tea plantations in Europe. This is due, in part, to the idyllic climate conditions of the region. Yet, the lion’s share of appreciation is attributed to the wife and husband team of Nina Gruntkowski and Dirk Niepoort (of Niepoort Wines fame). It is with their passion and enthusiasm that premium, organic, artisan green tea is now produced in Portugal.
The plantation of 12,000 trees is located in Fornelo, a half an hours’ drive north of Porto. The first planting began in 2014, but the first harvest and production of green tea couldn’ begin until 2019 after the tress had matured.
Since the beginning of the project, however, Chá Camélia have developed tea products. The first four teas were blends of Japanese teas, from partner Morimoto, with aromatic herbs and edible Portuguese flowers. Later came Pipachá, which unites the best of two worlds–tea and wine—by aging the leaves in Niepoort’s Port wine barrels to absorb the aromas of Port wine. And from 2017, the flowers of tea plants were harvested and dehydrated to create Florchá.
Finally, in 2019, Chá Camélia celebrated its first leaf harvest, a manual process, creating a product made from 100% of the locally-produced teas.
Guided tours are available for groups of up to 12 tea enthusiasts. The tours last two hours and include a tasting at end. Ask Portugal Confidential Experiences for more information.
To learn more, visit the Chá Camélia website.
Chá Camélia
Rua das Escolas Novas 605,
Fornelo
Email: info@chacamelia.com
