Parques de Sintra promotes first artisanal tea production using historic plants from the Park of Pena

For the first time, Parques de Sintra will promote an experience involving the harvesting and artisanal production of tea from the historic Camellia sinensis plants found at Alto do Chá, in the Park of Pena. The initiative, developed in partnership with Chá Camélia, will take place on June 3^rd, 2026 and June 4^th, 2026 and aims to raise awareness of the history, landscape and botanical value of a unique place within Sintra’s natural heritage.

Alto do Chá still preserves 28 surviving specimens from the original 19th-century plantation, which is believed to have comprised more than 100 tea plants. Their presence in the Park of Pena is associated with the landscape transformation initiated by King Ferdinand II from 1839 onwards, which turned this territory into a living laboratory for the acclimatisation of exotic, ornamental and forestry species.

According to historical references, Sintra was chosen in the late 19th century for an experimental sowing of Camellia sinensis, with the aim of testing the feasibility of tea production in mainland Portugal. The newspaper Diário de Notícias, dated January 28^th, 1883, refers to this experiment, which helped give the Park of Pena an atmosphere of oriental inspiration, where the plants grow among granite escarpments, winding paths and areas of high humidity.

The initiative now promoted by Parques de Sintra recovers this memory and transforms it into a participatory experience, bringing together history, botany, landscape and artisanal production.

‘Alto do Chá is one of the most unique places in the Park of Pena. By recovering the memory of this historic plantation and producing tea from these plants for the first time, we are linking heritage, nature and cultural experience in a very tangible way. It is a way of giving new life to a story that was inscribed in the landscape, but which many visitors were still unaware of,’ highlights João Sousa Rego, Chair of the Board of Directors of Parques de Sintra. 

On June 3^rd, 2026, the experience will be aimed at invited organisations, the press and Parques de Sintra’s internal team. The programme includes the harvesting of leaves at Alto do Chá, followed by a demonstration of artisanal production at the Stables and a tea tasting.

On June 4^th, 2026, the activity will be open to the public, in a format limited to around twenty participants. Throughout the day, participants will have the opportunity to harvest tea leaves at Alto do Chá, follow the different stages of the artisanal process, take part in the rolling of the leaves and taste the first green tea produced from Pena’s historic plants.

The experience also includes a light lunch outside the Sables, accompanied by iced tea and kombucha from Chá Camélia. The final drying process of the leaves will take place in a dehydrator and continue until the following morning. Tickets are sold exclusively on the Parques de Sintra website.

Alto do Chá occupies an area of around 4.98 hectares within the Park of Pena. The space is developed through a network of paths that gradually cross the granite escarpments, culminating in a viewpoint located at an altitude of around 450 metres, the third-highest point in the Park of Pena after the High Cross and the Palace itself.

The recovery of this area makes it possible to enhance a botanical and landscape ensemble of great significance. Over time, extreme weather events, such as the cyclone of February 15^th, 1941 and the storm of January 19^th, 2013, profoundly altered the tree composition of the Park of Pena. In the case of Alto do Chá, the opening of clearings following the fall of trees helped improve the tea plants’ exposure to sunlight, favouring their vegetative vigour.

The historic specimens of Camellia sinensis benefit from particularly favourable conditions on this southern slope of the Park of Pena: high humidity, shelter from northern and sea winds, good sun exposure, acidic and fertile soils, as well as proximity to water systems essential to the development of this species.

The programme dedicated to tea camellias will continue on October 24^th, 2026, with an experience devoted to flower harvesting. This activity will enable participants to follow the collection and dehydration of Camellia sinensis flowers, as well as taste dehydrated Pena flower tea and the tea produced in May.

With this initiative, Parques de Sintra gives new life to an almost forgotten story in the landscape of the Park of Pena: the existence, in Sintra, of a historic tea plantation, testimony to the scientific, Romantic and cosmopolitan vision that shaped this place in the 19th century.