This is how Orballo impacts its environment, the first to sell infusions "in harmony with nature"
Source: Colpisa
It all started with a man who wanted to change jobs and a touch of nostalgia. In the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, Gerardo Lagares decided to turn his master's project into a reality. He left Madrid and returned to the rural area in Galicia, to replace the eucalyptus plantations —an invasive species— with native chestnut trees that are more beneficial.
He did not achieve the necessary space for this ambitious idea, so he had to adjust his plan. However, in doing so he laid the foundations for what would become Europe's first organic tea plantation. It is in Paderne, in Betanzos (A Coruña), and it is now Orballo, a rural company specializing in organic infusions.
Tea cultivation was already established in Europe, although it was not something exactly common. Oscar Torres, communication director of Orballo, explains that there were plantations in Brest (Brittany), Wales and Scotland, "of tea enthusiasts" with a very limited and "exclusive" production . "Orballo is the opposite”, says Torres, with a tea appealing to all tastes.
Tea is a variety of camellia, the Camellia Sinensis. Camellias arrived in Galician gardens in the late 18th century, as an ornamental plant in the pazos (traditional Galician manor houses). From there they spread throughout the geography and now they are so present that there are even tourist routes that follow their blooming. In fact, Galicia is the main cultivation area in Spain for camellias and produces 3 million units per year, according to calculations by the Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers and Live Plants (FEPEX).
Heirs of the camellias
If ornamental camellias worked, why wouldn't tea do the same? "We ourselves reflect on that," responds Torres. He notes that there were already some tea plants in the gardens of some Galician pazos, although with limited production and not for commercial purposes. To start their planting, Orballo had the help of the Areeiro Phytopathological Station, which had already conducted tests and researched if the plant was compatible with Galicia. In 2016, they had the first results from their plantations.
Growing tea not only requires geographic conditions, but also knowledge. Torres recognizes that it is not exactly easy, because accessing the plants themselves is not so simple and you also need constant learning about how to take care of them. "We seek guidance and to acquire knowledge," he points out about this process. "The manufacturing of tea is like cooking. It's not the same to cook for one as it is to cook for a thousand," he adds. They have had to learn how to make good tea and how different harvests at different times of the year allow for obtaining the different varieties of this drink.
Torres talks about wine and its positive impact in rural areas as an example of what tea could be. It is true that the cultivation of the vine has a domestic tradition —the usual thing in Galicia was to make wine at home— and there isn't a custom of drinking tea.
It's a bit of what happens in general in Spain with infusions, although the manager exemplifies with the 'meigas', which are not really strange. What did the 'meigas' do besides using herbs to create their remedies? And, of course, aromatic plant crops are not uncommon in Spanish fields in general. "Mediterranean culture has a lot of tradition with aromatic plants," he adds.
Perhaps, the fact that we do not drink as many infusions as in other cultures —although the latest studies from Alimarket show that they are increasingly consumed in Spain— leads to the loss of sight of the potential they represent for rural environments. Even, the real impact they already have. Without going too far, Torres shows it with a fact: the Betanzos area is already one of the major exporters of laurel in Europe. And aromatic plants are very powerful in the perfume industry.
As good nature lovers
But going back to Orballo and its teas and infusions, what stands out is precisely that fact that they are the first organic tea on the continent. Perhaps for tea purists, this certification may not be as important, notes their responsible of communication, but for them it was, because that was precisely the type of agriculture they wanted to bet on. They want to "do things as good nature lovers." Cultivation is also part of caring for the environment. After all, Orballo's fields are in the area of the Biosphere Reserve As Mariñas Coruñesas e Terras do Mandeo.
Certifying the land to be organic requires time, understanding the soil, and occasionally allowing it to recover to regain good health. "At first, the neighbors would tell us that we were only cutting grass," jokes Torres. "Our philosophy is to create high-quality crops without harming the land," he explains, "giving more to the land than what we take from it." Now, they already work with about 20 hectares of aromatic plantations for their infusions and tea.
This type of approach to agriculture also has an impact on its environment: birds or insects can be seen in its fields. "You see bugs, you see life," he summarizes. Just because the land is certified organic doesn't mean pests abstain; nature itself manages them. For example, aphids are eaten by ladybugs. Torres believes it is a more sustainable model over time, because it is "like the cycle of nature." In fact, he points out that, plants are more resistant because they have been able to learn how to use their own weapons. "It's another way of looking at it", which implies a change in mentality and agricultural philosophy.