Azores

Wikipedia: Azores | Official Government Website: www.azores.gov.pt 
Updated: Mar. 19, 2014 

About Azores

The Azores are an archipelago of islands in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. The Azores are part of Portugal, but form an autonomous region with a political system and economy largely separate from Portugal's. The islands are located due west from Lisbon, Portugal.

Climate and ecology

The Azores have a mild, humid oceanic climate suitable for growing tea, and some tea is commercially produced in this region. Gorreana tea is a company that produces and sells tea from the Azores. The rainfall in the Azores is surprisingly low given the humidity; this is due to the presence of the Azores high, a permanent high pressure zone that tends to sit over the islands and surrounding region. This high pressure zone pushes away weather systems that would bring rainfall. Still, the region does receive ample rainfall, over 40 inches annually, with less falling in the summer months when the high pressure zone is more directly over the islands.

The natural ecosystems of the Azores have been devastated by human settlers. The islands were once covered with laurel forests called Laurisilva, a subtropical evergreen forest, a biome characterized by evergreen trees with glossy leaves; these forests now only cover a very small portion of the islands. With this loss, many endemic species of plants and animals, only found on these islands, have gone extinct.

Styles of Tea Produced in Azores

This is a selection, not an exhaustive listing, of the styles of tea most commonly produced in Azores.

Best Azorean Teas

The notion of the "best" Azorean teas is subjective, because different people have different tastes. We present the most often-rated and highest-rated teas produced in Azores, and allow you to draw your own conclusions.

Browse All Azorean Teas (6)