Nolwenn Jan cultivates more than 12,000 tea plants in Quimper

Rows of green plants slide down the slopes of Stangala, in Quimper (Finistère). “Tea”confirms Nolwenn Jan, head of the estate, before specifying: “In fact, these tea plants are camellias, whose botanical name is camelia sinensis sinensis. »

Since 1839

« It’s not at all surprising to see tea in Brittany. The first examples of tea plants of this variety were imported from Brazil and landed at the port of Brest in 1839.slips the tea grower.

185 years later, these camellias still seem to flourish in the Breton climate, taking advantage of the hydrometry and the acidic soil: “ Here, o started by planting 2,000, in June 2021explains Nolwenn Jan. Now, 12,000 plants grow just a few steps from the Manoir de Coat Bily. Initially, I was a scientist, then I was a lawyer and linguist. It was a botanist from northern Finistère, who is the oldest to have a tea plantation in France, who made me want to get started. »

Different varieties come together, grown from seeds “old tea plants from northern Finistère”…