Tea Grown in Europe
Spirits were high as a group tea growers from all over Europe attended the Tea Grown in Europe Association event in Wales in September 2024 at Peterston Tea Estate near Cardiff. It was brilliant to finally meet Lucy George the founder of Peterston Tea, a real inspiration to our Scottish members, giving insight into her sustainable tea growing techniques. It was very interesting to walk around her tea garden and take in her carefully curated growing space; tea bushes grown amidst nitrogen fixing plants, automated fertigation and irrigation systems designed with an understanding and respect for the natural environment. Lucy is always innovating, working to improve the soil, working with nature, reducing carbon and with full commitment to organic. The beautiful tastes she creates with her award winning Welsh teas is inspiring! Amongst other nationalities attending there were French, German, Spanish and Dutch growers, with several growers based around the Pyrenees and in Normandy and Brittany, one member said that ‘the commitment to organic and natural farming techniques is part of this group's DNA’,. After a couple of days talking and making tea with them, I would wholeheartedly agree.
Tea Growers from all over Europe at Peterston Tea in Wales Sept 2024
We met Thomas from Brittany, a farmer, fruit and tea grower whose tea offering was a wonderful fruity, heavy roasted black tea. He also offers educational experiences at the farm leslandesvivantes.fr. Jacques at @laventure_oolong is making Oolongs ! French oolongs inspired by Taiwanese oolong production. It blew my mind to taste so many teas lovingly made all around Europe, and it warmed my heart to know pockets of the Pyrenees are now home to tea gardens, farmed carefully as positive inclusions within the wider forest ecosystem. This is where it is at fellow tea growers, a collective attitude to support high quality tea making, to push the boundaries in premium tea, with offerings that are also of carbon positive value to the planet.
I returned home with a collection of wonderful stories, grateful for the sharing of our experiences as growers in marginal climates, and buoyed by their commitment to supporting the natural ecosystems wherein their tea plantations lie. Thanks to Lucy at Peterston Tea, Linda @het_zuyderblad and Gaelle who catalogued the event on her instagram at Jardinsdethe.fr