The start of the year for the tea

Ontem, as máquinas da fábrica de chá Gorreana começaram a operacionar pela primeira vez este ano. Os rebentos da planta são recolhidos anualmente entre os meses de Abril e Outubro, no terreno da fábrica com cerca de 32 hectares, de forma mecânica, que veio substituir a apanha manual. O chá Gorreana é de grande qualidade pois não são utilizados quaisquer químicos nas plantações visto que as pragas normais/comuns da planta do chá não sobrevivem no clima de São Miguel.

No video poderá ver os roladores em funcionamento.

Yesterday the Gorreana tea factory started to operate for the first time this year. The plant's shoots are picked between  April and October, in the factory's field of 32 hectares, mechanically, replacing the old hand-picking method. Gorreana tea is of great quality because no chemicals are used on the plantations since the normal/common plagues that threaten the plant can't survive the climate of São Miguel.

In the video you can see the rollers in function.

Our activities of the last days

23/5/2013

Walking tour to "Sete Cidades" 

Walking around the lakes of "Sete Cidades" (in the back The Blue Lake - Lagoa Azul) with our german clients

"Frogwatching"

Taking a bath in the warm water of the natural swimming pool in "Ferraria", the place of the last eruption on the island

24/5/2013

Jeep tour to "Lagoa do Fogo" - The Fire Lake



Our view to the Fire Lake

The beautiful flower of passion fruit seen in the front of the liquer factory "Mulher da capote" in Ribeira Grande, the second biggest city on the island

 28/5/2013

Full-day jeep tour to "Furnas"

Explanation about the green tea in the "Gorreana" tea factory by one of our guides - André

The workers of the "Gorreana" tea factory

Explanation about Furnas Lake and  Furnas Valley by one of our guides from the viewpoint of the "Pico do Ferro"- The Iron Peak

Removing the speciality food of  the "Furnas" - "cozido" from the ground

Full-day tour to Furnas with Futurismo

Below are some pictures of our full-day tour to Furnas from Tuesday. On this day we combined our walking tour with a visit to the tea factory "Gorreana" where you can taste local green and black tea. For lunch we went to a family restaurant where we ate "cozido" which is a speciality cooked underground in Furnas. We also had the chance to taste some local liqueurs. At the end of the tour we visited the chapel "Senhora da Paz" in Vila Franca do Campo. This chapel is situated high on the hill above Vila Franca and offers breathtaking views of Vila Franca Islet.



The tea plantations

The modern methods of tea collecting which replaced a traditional manual ones



Sterilization of tea leaves before their rolling

In the middle of the Furnas crater - caldeiras

The favourite "sauna" place of Heidi (our german guide)



The tasting of natural mineral water in Furnas

The view from the "Pico do Ferro" (The Iron Peak) to the Furnas lake



In front of Vila Frnaca Islet

Fishermen in Vila Franca do Campo

Gruta do Carvão

This week we made a tour with a group of clients to one of the caves under Ponta Delgada called Gruta do Carvão. Its a very interesting place where you will learn about the different caves in Azores, history of the volcanic activity, minerals and bacteria, the types of lava (aa lava and pahoehoe lava) and vegetation (and about a few insects). And, of course, take a walk underground and explore the caves. After Gruta do Carvão we visited Ribeira Grande, stopped at a few good view-points and one of São Miguels tea factories; Chá Gorreana. Some photos from the tour:

Gruta do Carvão

Bird of Paradise flower

Ribeira Grande

African Lilly

Tea plantage Chá Gorreana

Inside the tea factory

Ending the tour by trying three types of tea made at Chá Gorreana