Why You Need to Visit Zealong Tea Estate

Last updated on 25 March 2024

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Visit New Zealand’s tea plantation: Zealong Tea Estate

As part of some birthday celebrations for a very good friend of mine, we headed to Zealong Tea Estate in the Waikato here in New Zealand. I didn’t even know the place existed, and guys…it was awesome.

Tea enthusiasts in New Zealand, please correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe this is the only tea estate in New Zealand. We’re not really known for our tea (hello dairy!), but Zealong has managed to create 5 different teas from one plant. Here’s their story (taken from their website):

“IT ALL STARTED WITH A CAMELLIA TREE.
Flowering, lush and green, the camellia grew next door to Tzu Chen’s house in New Zealand’s Waikato region.

A lover of tea, Mr Chen was struck by the similarities between tea plants and the camellia. To Mr Chen, the thriving camellia plant meant New Zealand was not just pure and clean, it was also the perfect environment to grow one of the world’s best teas.

In 1996, Mr Chen and his son Vincent imported 1500 tea seedlings from Taiwan. They were left with only 130 after a rigorous quarantine from New Zealand’s Ministry of Agriculture. But after careful propagation Zealong’s lush, sweet tea plants number in the thousands and spread over 40 hectares.

A wealth of knowledge gained through the years, coupled with a hand-picked team, has meant Zealong isn’t just perfectly grown and chemical free, but also processed to the highest international food standards.

Today, Zealong tea is a testament to Mr Chen and Vincent’s dream. Combining New Zealand’s pristine environment with the best traditional knowledge and produce, they seek to produce the perfect, purest tea.”

 

There are five different tea flavours – Green, Pure, Aromatic, Dark and Black – and we decided on Green, Dark and Black. You get them in a teacup with no handle but with an infuser. So we had the one we had chosen and then passed our infusers around so we could try all three.

We also got a platter of sweet things, all had one of the teas in them and all were delicious! My favourite tea was the black one, the one I originally chose. I think I like the bigger, deeper, stronger flavour of the dark teas. I’ve tried to get into green tea – I hear it’s very good for you – but, guys…I just can’t do it.

 

If you’re in the area and are a lover of tea, then definitely check it out! They do tours as well, so you can learn more about the tea and hows it’s grown, harvested and turned into what it is when it gets to you. Unfortunately, our day was pretty packed, so we didn’t have time, but the short time we spent there was really wonderful!