The Last Two Gardens in Europe

On a green hillside above the coast, rows of tea bushes grew in neat lines down to the sea. They looked almost as tidy as a drawing. Polly landed on a stone wall and looked out. This is one of only two places left in Europe that still grows tea, and the only one people can visit.

På en grøn skråning over kysten voksede rækker af tebuske i pæne linjer ned mod havet. De så næsten så ordentlige ud som en tegning. Polly landede på en stenmur og kiggede ud. Dette er et af kun to steder tilbage i Europa, hvor der stadig dyrkes te, og det eneste, man kan besøge.

The farm began in eighteen eighty-three. Before that, the island grew oranges, but a disease killed the orange trees. The growers needed something new for the volcanic soil, so they brought in tea plants and old English machines. Both are still used today, which makes this the oldest tea farm in Europe.

Gården begyndte i attenhundrede og treogfirs. Før det dyrkede øen appelsiner, men en sygdom dræbte appelsintræerne. Avlerne havde brug for noget nyt til den vulkanske jord, så de hentede teplanter og gamle engelske maskiner. Begge dele bruges stadig i dag, og det gør stedet til Europas ældste tegård.

Inside the small factory, iron machines more than a hundred years old still roll and dry the leaves. Workers still pick the newest leaves by hand, because the youngest leaves make the best tea. No pesticides are used here, a rule the growers have followed since the very start.

Inde i den lille fabrik ruller og tørrer jernmaskiner på over hundrede år stadig bladene. Arbejderne plukker stadig de nyeste blade i hånden, fordi de yngste blade giver den bedste te. Der bruges ingen pesticider her, en regel avlerne har fulgt fra begyndelsen.

Polly walked along a warm row of tea plants. The leaves smelled like grass after rain. Five generations of growers had cared for this hillside, one harvest at a time.

Polly gik langs en varm række teplanter. Bladene duftede som græs efter regn. Fem generationer af avlere havde passet denne bakkeside, én høst ad gangen.