It’s no secret that the British love their
tea but I was surprised to learn that England has its own tea plantation in the
county of Cornwall. Tea bushes thrive in the microclimate of the Tregothnan
estate near Truro, which mimics that of the Himalayan foothills.
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| England's Tea Plantation, Tregothnan |
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| Fortnum and Mason |
Tregothnan isn’t open to the public but our visit was included with the Corners of Cornwall tour with Back-Roads Touring.
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| Tregothnan, Home of the Boscawen Family |
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| Summer House |
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| Monkey Puzzle Tree |
The garden is home to rare and endangered species from around the world including the Wollemi Pine, or Dinosaur Tree, known only through fossils and thought to be extinct until it was found growing in Australia in 1994.
The estate’s peaceful botanical garden must be really spectacular in spring when the rhododendrons, magnolias and camellias are in bloom.
Camellia sinensis tea bushes were first imported from India in 1999 and now grow in pockets across the estate. Tregnothan has the only known surviving Wardian Case, a travelling greenhouse used for transporting foreign plants to Europe. Prince Phillip planted a tea bush here during his visit in 2014.
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| World's Only Surviving Wardian Case |
Only two leaves and a bud are hand-picked from each bush at dawn and then processed according to traditional methods. Tregnothan tea is now served at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show and even exported to tea-growing countries like India and China.
After our tour of the gardens we were
treated to a cup of tea and some delicious buttery biscuits. The estate’s many
varieties of tea, as well as Manuka and wildflower honeys and rare kea plum jam,
are available for purchase in the gift shop.
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| Tregothnan Gift Shop |
You might be ready for a cup of tea yourself so I’ll leave you here now and continue next week with our afternoon visit to the coastal town of Fowey.
I enjoy a good cup of tea, both black and herbal. A few years ago I had a wonderful tea in Germany, and noticing that the tea was from Montreal I decided I would order some when I got back home. Turns out they only sell to large institutions - like hotels. It was an orange flavored tea and I've yet to find anything like it.
ReplyDeleteTea certainly has gone global, hasn't it? It's become so popular and there are so many options. I have about 3 or 4 regulars.
DeleteI enjoyed your Cornish posts after I came across your post about Tregothnan. I spent holidays in the village of Tresillian. My grandmother worked at Tregothnan and had the key to the gatehouse so we often walked her dog Dinah along the driveway. I’ve spent a v enjoyable half hour browsing yr travel photos.
ReplyDelete