Posljednja dva vrta u Europi

Na zelenoj padini iznad obale redovi čajevaca rasli su u urednim linijama sve do mora. Izgledali su gotovo kao nacrtani. Polly je sletjela na kameni zid i pogledala. Ovo je jedno od samo dva mjesta u Europi na kojima se još uzgaja čaj i jedino koje ljudi mogu posjetiti.

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.

Imanje je počelo tisuću osamsto osamdeset treće. Prije toga otok je uzgajao naranče, ali je bolest uništila stabla naranči. Uzgajivačima je trebalo nešto novo za vulkansko tlo, pa su donijeli biljke čaja i stare engleske strojeve. Oboje se koristi i danas, zbog čega je ovo najstarije čajno imanje u Europi.

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.

U maloj tvornici željezni strojevi stariji od sto godina i dalje motaju i suše listove. Radnici najmlađe listove i dalje beru rukom, jer najmlađi listovi daju najbolji čaj. Ovdje se ne koriste pesticidi, pravilo kojega se uzgajivači drže od samog početka.

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.

Polly je hodala uz topli red čajevaca. Listovi su mirisali kao trava nakon kiše. Pet naraštaja uzgajivača brinulo se o ovoj padini, jednu berbu za drugom.

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.