IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE, but the climate of Cornwall, in England, is not unlike that of Darjeeling, in the Indian state of West Bengal, in the foothills of the Himalayas. They both have plenty of rain, consistently mild temperatures and well-irrigated soil.
So although anyone who likes a cuppa probably knows that much of the tea we consume is from Darjeeling, it came as a surprise to me when I stumbled across Tregothnan Estate, just outside Truro, to learn that it is home to Europe’s only tea plantation.
Tregothnan has been owned by the Boscawens since 1335, and given the climate it’s no surprise that the family has been an enthusiastic collector of rare plants through several generations.
But it took a young gardener named Jonathan Jones, who joined the estate in 1996, to make the tea connection. He found that among Tregothnan’s stock was Camellia sinensis, whose leaves and leaf buds are used to produce tea. It had been grown ornamentally there for more than 200 years – and was thriving.
By 1999 eight hectares of the estate had been cleared and planted. And on May 3rd, 2005, Tregothnan estate workers became Britain’s first tea pickers. So, after withering, rolling, oxidising and drying, the first 50kg of their Single Estate tea went on sale at Fortnum Mason, in London.
But the place to taste Tregothnan tea has got to be the estate itself, where Evelyn Boscawen has been so taken with the success of his plantation that he is adding an International Tea Centre. You can tour the plantation, visit the museum and, starting this spring, join tutored tea-tastings – to ensure you never add milk or sugar again.
** Tregothnan Estate, Truro, Cornwall, England, 00-44-1872-520000, www.tregothnan.co.uk
** Do you know of a hidden gem? E-mail us at go@irishtimes.com