Where Tea Grows in Europe
I have found in recent years that my list of tea producers in the United States and Canada has been a very valuable resource and encouraged more domestic tea drinking and curiosity for new growers. After a chance meeting with Nigel Melican (perhaps the grandfather of unique tea growing operations, to whom I owe a good portion of this list), I decided to put together a similar compilation of tea growing operations in Europe.
The first big question I had to answer was: what constitutes Europe? Not as easy to answer as I might’ve assumed! There are geographical boundaries of Europe, political boundaries of Europe, and everything in between. For the purposes of ease, I’ve stuck to what might be called ‘conventional’ Europe, that is, the whole of continental Europe extending East to the Russian border and the Northern Islands. This excludes the South Eastern extension through the Caucasus into Asia (Turkey, who is actually the fifth largest producer of tea in the world, and Georgia, etc).
The second big question was — why are there so many growers in Scotland?? All answers and more below.
You will see there are a good number of tea growing operations and plenty of opportunities to taste these teas both at home and at location, as well as buy tea plants, tea seeds, tour tea gardens, and more.
Farms currently growing tea in
Europe:
Belgium
Affinithé
This is a small farm in the Walloon Brabant region in the middle of the country which has been growing tea since 2018 for future sales, but as of yet has not harvested any for sale.
[2023 Update, not clear it still growing or defunct]
Beauvechain, Walloon Brabant
NO SALES
InstagramFrance
Réunion Island actually produces quite a lot of tea, but as an overseas department and region of France just off the coast of Madagascar, I have not included it since it is not a part of mainland Europe.
Filleule des Fees
Filleule des Fees (Goddaughter of the Fairies) started with just 10 “Kolkhida” Georgian culitvar tea plants in 2006 but they’ve since grown to 13,000 plants, grown in the Blavet Valley. Run by Weizi and Denis Mazerolle, they sell finished tea, black and green, along with tea seeds and cuttings. To help support, they are asking members to adopt tea plots, to help expand and grow their tea farm.
Languidic, Brittany
Sells: Finished Tea, Tea Plants, Tea Seeds
Size: 3 acres, 13,000 plants
FacebookParc Les Camellias de la Prairie
Parc Les Camellias de la Prairie is a plant conservatory in Alès that has a large Camellia collection, including Camellia sinensis.
Alés, Occitanie
NO SALES
Size: <1Pépinières Botanique
Growing Camellias since 1864 and one of the largest Camellia gardens in Europe, this nursery is part of a larger garden called the Plantarium, next to the Château de Gaujacq.
Gaujacq, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Sells: Live plants
FacebookPépinières Nicolandes
The Nicolandes nursery in Riec-sur-Bélon currently grows many types of plants, including tea plants.
Riec-sur-Bélon, Brittany
Sells: Live plantsPépinières Stervinou
A well-established nursery in Brittany, Stervinou usually has Camellia sinensis, along with thousands of other plants for sale, and helpful tips for growing.
Guipronvel, Brittany
Sells: Live plants
TwitterRoué Pépinières
Roué nurseries, based in Brittany, sell their plants all over France and provide resources for both amateur and professional growers.
Plouigneau, Brittany
Sells: Live Plants
Instagram | FacebookGermany
Liu Tea & Art
Located in Alfeld in Lower Saxony, Liu mainly sells tea from China, specifically from Wudang Shan (in keeping with a Taoist focus). But they have also planted seedlings from Wudang and some from Tscha-Nara, also in Germany, as a part of their Tea House.
Alfeld, Lower Saxony
Sells: Tea Seeds, Tea Plants
Instagram | FacebookTscha-Nara
Located in the Bergischer Highlands, about 10 miles NE of Cologne. They’ve grown tea since 1999, mostly Korean plants, but have since added many more cultivars from around the world, including assamica and pubilimba varieties. They currently sell a green, oolong, and black tea.
Odenthal, North Rhine-Westphalia
Size: 0.61 acres
Sells: Finished Tea
YoutubeItaly
AssoTè Infusi (ITA.Tea)
Near the Val Grande National Park and Lake Maggiore is what may be the second-largest tea growing operation in Europe, a tea plantation in Verbano, operated by Marco Bertona, executive director of the Italian Tea & Infusions Association (AssoTè Infusi). They are an educational and training group for tea in Italy and here, they make finished tea: an internationally award-winning black tea and a Bai Mu Dan style white tea.
Val D'ossola, Piedmont
Size: 24,000 plants
Sells: Finished TeaCompagnia del Lago Maggiore
Right off the shore of Lake Maggiore sits this plant nursery with a wide range of plants, and potted live Camellia sinensis.
Verbania, Piedmont
Size: 30 Hectares (total for the nursery)
Sells: Live Plants
Instagram | FacebookLa Camelia d’Oro
Sitting on the shore of Lake Maggiore, La Camelia d’Oro is an historic camellia nursery. They grow over 400 species and cultivars of camellias and have since 1872. They hold workshops on and growing techniques and classes where you can process your own tea.
Oggebbio, Piedmont
NO SALES
Instagram | FacebookMontenegro
Here’s the thing – according to FAO Statistics, Montenegro reports that they produce 100 tonnes of tea on 123 hectares a year. However, despite my research, I cannot find anything on any tea farms there, or any Montenegrin-produced tea. If you have any information on this, I’d love to know!
Netherlands
Het Zuyderblad
Owner Linda Cebrian-Rampen planted this farm near the Belgian border after a trip to China and trips to other European tea farms inspired her. She has several thousand plants, planted alongside asparagus and strawberries, and is selling green and black tea.
Soerendonk, North Brabant
Size: 1 acres, Several thousand plants
Sells: Finished Tea
Facebook | InstagramSpecial Plant Zundert / Local Tea
A large plant nursery in the birthplace of van Gogh, Special Plant Zundert not only grows and sells live Camellia sinensis plants, but works with an organization called Tea By Me, who distribute Zundert’s plants across Europe in ‘grow your own tea’ single plant pots. They can be found in the UK, Netherlands, and Belgium. Their plants are also processed into finished tea by a company called LocalTea.
Zundert, North Brabant
Sells: Live PLants, Finished tea (through Joan Dutch Tea Makers)
Zundert Facebook, LocalTea Facebook | Zundert Instagram, LocalTea InstagramPortugal
Cha Gorreana
Probably the largest and oldest tea producer in Europe, they are located on the island of São Miguel, in the Azores. They are family owned, started by Ermelinda Gago da Câmara and her son José Honorato, and have been in operation since 1883. They produce commodity tea (broken leaf, pekoe, orange pekoe, etc), however they claim to use no herbicides or pesticides. Cha Gorreana now owns Canto Tea (Cha Canto), another historic Azores tea brand.
São Miguel, Azores
Size: 32 acres
Sells: Finished tea (As Gorreana and Cha Canto)
FacebookChá Camélia
Inspired by records of a former 19th Century tea plantation near Ponte de Lima (but never produced), Dirk Niepoort and Nina Gruntkowski planted their first 200 seedlings in 2012. They since moved their plants to a one hectare farm in Fornelo, in Vila do Conde and are now up to 12,000 plants. They produce a small amount of Japanese-style green tea for sale, along with Japanese imports.
Fornelo e Vairão, Porto
Size: ~2 acres, 12,000 plants
Sells: Finished tea, imported tea
Facebook | InstagramSpain
Orballo
This company grows a wide variety of herbs, flowers, and it seems, tea, in Paderne. You can visit and tour their farm, and they have in the past processed a harvest of Camellia sinensis they made into finished tea, with the help of Escuela Española del Té.
Paderne, A Coruña
NO SALES
Facebook | InstagramPazo Quinteiro da Cruz
A botanic garden and winery with 600 species and cultivars and a specialization on Camellias. Located in the Val do Salnés in Galicia, they process a small amount of green tea from their plants for visitors to enjoy.
Ribadumia, Pontevedra
Sells: Finished tea (locally)
Facebook | InstagramViveiros Río Tollo
A plant nursery specializing in Camellias in Tomiño, right on the northern border of Portugal, they work with a brand called Tea Térra that sells individually potted tea plants for individual growing and harvesting.
Tomiño, Pontevedra
Sells: Live plants
Facebook | InstagramSweden
Camellia Sinensis Gotland
A collaboration between the Swedish tea company Kränku Te & Kaffe, who sells the tea (and tea plants) and Verdure, an organization devoted to establishing tea growing in Sweden. Growing on the island of Gotland off the Eastern coast, they first planted in 2016 and have since had two harvests of tea to sell. Inspired by Carl Linnaeus, the Swede who was the first to botanically classify tea’s taxonomy (and apparently tried to grow tea in Uppsala), you can now support their mission by buying live tea plants or buying plants for their farm.
Tofta, Gotland
Sells: Finished Tea (when available)
Instagram | FacebookGretas Te
Run by Kristine and Jonathan Yngfors in Gränna, Sweden, this small tea farm has sold their own finished tea as of this last Summer, and plans to sell more as they can havest. They sell through their tea shop, called Gretas Te, which also sells various imported teas.
Gränna, Jönköping
Sells: Finished Tea (when available)
InstagramSwitzerland
Casa del Té
A tiny tea plantation devoted to the art of growing and sharing tea, up on the hill of Monte Verità, above Ascona and Lake Maggiore. This hill is fairly historic for the region and provides a picturesque setting for the tea farm. They perform traditional Japanese Tea Ceremonies, have a Tea Harvest Festival, and sell all sorts of tea and teaware.
Ascona, Ticino
Sells: Imported tea
FacebookUkraine
Zhornina Tea Plantation
There isn’t much on this development or any way that I can see to contact them, but there seems to be a re-cultivated lot in Western Ukraine from an older, much larger tea plantation. In the early 1950’s, it seems that 50 hectares were set aside for a tea plantation, with more planned to follow. At one time, they harvested 1.5 tonnes of tea, but priorities shifted and the plants were abandoned. Efforts led by Maksym Malygin & Dimitry Filimonov to revive them and process tea for local sales are currently underway.
Mukacehvo, Zakarpattia
Size: 292 Plants
NO SALES
Press | PressUnited Kingdom
– England
Plymouth Tea
Plymouth Tea, in Devon, sells their own blends of imported tea, but has planted out a small lot to experiment with. No sales of that tea yet.
Plymouth, Devon
Sells: Imported Tea
Size: 500 Plants
Facebook | TwitterTregothnan
Tregothnan grows tea and produces finished tea (both green and black) in Cornwall. They may be the UK’s first tea estate, having planted in 1999 and produced finished tea in 2005. They are a large, historic botanic garden and estate, dating back to 1334 with many varieties of plants from which they produce herbal teas, honey, jams, and more.
Truro, Cornwall
Sells: Finished Tea, Tea Plants
Size: ~20 Acres, <20,000 plants
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter– Northern Ireland
Suki Ni Tea Plantation
A new venture from Suki Tea, a Northern Ireland based tea importer and blender, they plan to have tea ready for sale in 2023.
Portaferry, County Down
Size: 500 plants
SELLS: Imported Tea
Instagram– Scotland
Within Scotland, you have two main organizations that work with local farmer to grow tea, and collectively represent 18 different small tea farms. Many of them finish their tea at the Scottish Tea Factory, an educational endeavor that processes tea, and educates about tea growing and processing in Perthshire, run by Beverly Wainwright.
The Tea Gardens of Scotland
This is an association of nine women who came together in 2016 to grow tea in Scotland. They mostly grow cold-resistant cultivars of seedlings from Nepal and Georgia. They originally received funding through the European 2014-2020 LEADER program. Their collective teas have been sold by Fortnum & Mason and the Bulgari Hotel in London.
Instagram
They represent:
Broich grows Georgian plants from seed, of the Kolkhida cultivar, and currently sells finished black tea. Their first batch was used in the making of a gin by Teasmith. You can also stay in their holiday cottage on the garden.
Crieff, Perth and Kinross
Size: ~ 1 acre
Sells: Finished Tea
InstagramNot currently open or making tea, but there is tea planted that will eventually become a maze and this will be a maze and tourist attraction, in development.
Crieff, Perth and Kinross
NO SALESLocated in Angus, north of Dundee. They process tea from 9 year old bushes, and have planted Nepali and Georgian tea seedlings, that should be ready to produce in 2020 and 2022, respectively. They only process leaf into black tea, sold through Pekoe Tea. You can also tour the garden, with prior arrangement. Not organic certified, but farmed with natural manure made from the local terroir.
Kinnettles, Angus
Size: ~ 1 acre
Sells: Finished Tea
Instagram Located in Angus. They don’t currently sell finished tea, but are growing as part of their lot to eventually do so. Not currently open to the public.
Kinnordy, Angus
No SalesNot currently selling finished tea or open to the public, but experimenting with growing. Started with 4,000 seedlings, Nepali and Georgian, they sadly lost most due to harsh cold winds in 2018 and have regrouped, with 1,200 plants currently. Grown all-naturally, without pesticides or herbicides.
Logie, Fife
Size: ~ 1 Acre, 1,200 plants
NO SALES
InstagramAs the name suggests, this 15th Century castle has many gardens, one of which is a tea garden. One tea bush that still grows there dates back to 1785, when Captain Robert Drummond (of the Drummond family, who have lived in Megginch since 1661) brought it back on his East Indian Tea Clipper, The General Elliott. Tours can be arranged as well.
Errol, Perth and Kinross
NO SALES
Instagram Currently experimenting with 1,800 Nepali seedlings, but no finished tea yet. They arrange tours as well.
Cupar, Fife
Size: ~1 Acre, 1,800 PLants
NO SALESStarting with 5,500 seedlings (Nepali and Georgian), they are learning and growing, but no finished tea yet and not open to the public. Tours will be offered sometime soon.
Saint martins, perth and kinross
Size: ~1 Acre, 5,500 plants
NO SALES
InstagramTea Scotland
This collection of tea farms is sponsored by the Regional Food Fund, a grant from the Scottish Government supporting region food and drink initiatives. They collectively sell tea from the group website.
Instagram
They represent:
Aiming to grow Organic, single-estate specialty Scottish tea, Islay Roberts and Duncan Henderson journeyed through Sri Lanka and India to learn about tea before starting the farm in 2018 in Argyll.
Glen Caladh, Argyll and Bute
DIRECT SALES
Size: 40 acres, 300 plants
InstagramStarted in 2018 by Lynne Collinson, this seems to be the Northern-most tea growing in Europe, at 59º North, on the isle of Shapinsay in the Orkney Islands! There seems to be some direct sales of the finished tea.
Shapinsay, Orkney
DIRECT SALESRun by Lucy and Chris Williams in Sutherland, they are growing a small amount of tea which they previously sold blended with imported tea. They will continue to grow for fully Scottish tea sold soon. Their motto is “From croft to cup.”
BONAR BRIDGE, Sutherland
NO SALES
InstagramStarted in 2016, Mike Hyatt and Clare Haworth aim to grow tea here on the Baleveolan Croft and seem to have formerly sold tea, a sencha style, through the Wee Tea Company.
Lismore, Argyll and Bute
Previously Sales
FacebookRun by Bev & Tim on (of course) the Isle of Arran, they have 1,000 tea plants and counting.
Isle of Arran, North Ayrshire
Size: 1,000 plants
NO SALES
InstagramThis tea house, idyllically suited for tea tastings and afternoon tea, also grows their own small lot of tea that you can sample in their tea room.
Dillar Burn, Lanark
DIRECT SALES
Instagram
FacebookA Tea plantation in a Victorian walled garden overlooking the Solway coast.
Auchencairn, Dumfries
NO SALESElma and Charlie run this tea garden, planting their tea with roses and creating a rose white peony blend.
Castle Douglas, Dumfries and Galloway
NO SALES
Size: 1150 Plants
FacebookHaddington, East Lothian
NO SALES
InstagramIsle of Mull Tea
‘Crofter’ (someone who runs a small scale farm, particular to Scotland) Liz Gibson and her husband run this small tea farm, as you might guess, on the Isle of Mull. Inspired by a Fair Trade tour of Peru, where they got to pick some tea, they planted out their own. After some initial issues growing (a common theme in Scotland!), they were able to produce some tea, including matcha, but have since not sold any more tea.
Lochdon, Argyll and Bute
NO SALESMaikle Tea
Maikle Tea sits in the Scottish Highlands and produces two steamed green tea styles, both from one bud, one leaf. They have a whole leaf version and a chopped leaf version, plus one blended with elderflower. They claim the tea as chemical-free and nurtured by the clear air and pure water.
BONAR BRIDGE, Sutherland
SIZE: 1,200 Plants
SELLS: Finished Tea, Elderflowers
Instagram Windy Hollow
A fully organic certified Scottish tea farm in Perthshire. They grow other herbs as well, including chamomile, nettle, and meadowsweet. They sell finished tea, grown from seed, and have given tours of the farm in the past.
Auchterader, perth and kinross
Sells: Finished Tea, Herbal Teas, Classes
Instagram– Wales
Peterston Tea Estate
Welsh-grown tea in the Vale of Glamorgan. Since 2014 they have been making and processing tea in Wales, and currently sell a black tea, a green tea, and a lightly oxidized black. They also grow two kinds of Sichuan Pepper, soon to be for sale.
Ely, Cardiff
Size: ~ 1 acre
Sells: Finished Tea
Instagram | Facebook | Twitter– Jersey
Jersey Fine Tea
A venture of Jersey Royal Company, the farmers of the protected designation Jersey Royal potato, and managed by Alicia Gentili, Jersey Fine Tea produces finished green, white, and black tea from three different gardens on the island.
Gorey, Jersey
SIZE: 6 Acres
SELLS: Finished Tea
Instagram | FacebookThe Jersey Tea Company
The Jersey Tea Company, founded by Katherine and Terry Boucher and Cardin and Michelle Pasturel, planted out a few acres of tea in the middle of the island on Warwick Farm, alongside hemp, and currently sell a finished black tea and green tea.
St Helier, jersey
Size: ~ 2 acres, 25,000 plants
Sells: Finished Tea
Facebook | TwitterAny others you know of? Let us know!
Also, be sure to check in with the European Specialty Tea Association if you want to be more involved with tea and tea culture (for both consumers and businesses) and the European Tea Growers for more info.
