Culinary trips have always been very popular. Some travelers however have a specific taste and plan their holiday simply to discover more about their favorite drink. Whisky distilleries, wine cellars, coffee plantations – they all are immensely attractive destinations. Tea is the one hot drink that has probably the most enthusiasts all around the world. Tourism Review presents top 5 tea destinations for any tea lover’s trip.
When the British began to import Chinese tea into their colonies and the Chinese received opium in exchange, which made both tea and opium a reason for a series of Asian wars, India and tea began their strong and steamy relationship.
Drinking tea in the land of spices is fantastic because the flavor of the concoction blends with the surrounding aromas, which is accompanied by the colors and noises that cover every Indian city.
Darjeeling, a former holiday resort for English settlers residing in Calcutta, is the ideal Indian destination for tea lovers. Darjeeling tea is one of the best black teas in the world – if not the best –, and often chosen by numerous counterfeiters who try to pass products for this unique variety, which is why it is known as the champagne of teas.
Few dreams can be better than walking through tea plantations on a cloudy day, before visiting one by one the tea houses scattered across the city to taste countless drinks until your tongue is unable to tell which one is the best.
If you ever visit Turkey, you must taste the local tea. Simply put, the Turks love tea: it is their staple drink, and they never miss an occasion to invite strangers to a steaming red cup.
Since the years of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks searched for the ideal location to cultivate their own plantations, although it was not until the 30s of the last century when they discovered that Rize, a small town in southeastern Turkey and part of the Black Sea Region, contained the ideal weather conditions. Since then, tea has spread entirely across Turkey.
Few destinations are better than this, where Turkish nature, history and cuisine come together in this small cup of tea that is served in any place in Rize. Mountain trips, dips in the Black Sea, visit tea plantations... If you are a true tea lover, it doesn’t seem like you need to think too much about visiting Turkey.
The largest black tea producer on the planet is also one of the most beautiful countries in the Middle East. This excellent destination combines certain doses of adventure with the evident calm that the first sip of a freshly prepared cup of tea brings.
One might think that Iran is terribly dangerous, but the reality is that Iranians are extremely friendly and hospitable people. The country is not particularly dangerous even for sailors, particularly in its northern area, and it is in fact an excellent destination for tea lovers thanks to the 30,000 hectares that can be found in its cooler regions. Iran also has a National Tea Museum in Lahijan surrounded by beautiful plantations.
Since the pandemic was made official, traveling by air to India is not an easy task. However, taking a plane to Portugal to visit São Miguel in the Azores islands is also a great option for tea enthusiasts.
Portugal is an excellent, safe, quiet, affordable, and close destination. The country also boasts the best tea plantations in Europe which can be visited and enjoyed.
The small size of the island allows you to stay where you feel at ease the most, and rent a vehicle with which to travel its winding roads and tea fields.
The striking green color of the island fuses with the tea plants and goes down until it fades into the black sand beaches created by the volcanic eruptions that shaped the Azores archipelago. This is an excellent destination for photography lovers... and tea lovers, of course.
Different strokes for different folks, and that’s especially true when we talk about tea. If we found red tea in Turkey and black tea in Iran and India, there is no better destination than Vietnam to try the world-famous green tea.
In Thái Nguyên, known as the city of tea in Vietnam, eighty kilometers north of Hanoi, travelers will find a tea paradise, where it seems that the city itself comes to life thanks to this drink.
The bright green from the tea leaves surround the entire city and even take over the sidewalks, although only when they are already dry and ready to add to boiling water.
It is possible to schedule a visit to walk through its endless-seeming plantations and watch closely how tea is made in a traditional factory and, of course, do the mandatory tea tasting to become, if possible, even more knowledgeable of this delicious herb.