Page 49 - Tropic Magazine Issue 34

TROPIC • SPECIAL FEATURE

Verdant green

Nucifora Tea Estate has built
a business to last decades,
producing just one variety of
black tea in the lush pastures of
East Palmerston. Sebastian ‘Sybbie’ Nucifora
Words: Annabel Bowles
Driving around the Cassowary Coast thorny raspberry bushes to pick seeds With 120 acres that need harvesting
region is a delight for the eyes and from a neighbouring farm, gathering every 21 days – except during the crop’s
tastebuds alike. With more roadside fruit 4000 kilograms to build their own off season in winter – it’s a good thing
stalls than you can count, the tropical plantation. It took four years before the Sybbie’s passion hasn’t faltered.
produce you’ll find is unlike any other, first harvest was ready. Owner Peter The farm produces just one variety, Assam
and not only for its unrivalled freshness Zhou, who took over the business in early black tea, which results in a smooth, full-
and quality for price. If you’ve travelled 2018 after emigrating to Australia eight bodied cup without too many
along the road west of Innisfail, heading years prior, said Sybbie is the reason for ‘puckery’ tannins. This year Sybbie,
towards the lower Tablelands region of Nucifora’s success. alongside Peter and his daughter Tiffany,
Mungalli, you would have spotted not “Sybbie is still the tea plantation operator are working on their own new tea picking
only banana palms, but fields of verdant today,” Peter told Tropic. machinery, while plans for a visitor tea
green tea. Nucifora Tea Estate was “He's a very experienced tea farmer, and house are also in the works.
established in 1985 after Sebastian ‘Sybbie’ certainly the best person to look after the Nucifora distributes across Queensland
Nucifora inherited a large sugarcane field plants and make sure the farm and Australia, as well as through an
from his father. keeps operating. online shop. You can visit the roadside
Going against the grain, he decided to "In the early days, he even built Nucifora’s stall any day of the year to purchase some
grow tea – establishing one of the only own mechanical tea picker – which we tea, and take a photo beside rows upon
plantations in Australia. Sybbie and his still use today. Sybbie’s now over 65 years rows of rich green.
family battled against green ants and old but still very passionate about his job.”
GO THERE 2535 Palmerston Hwy,
East Palmerston

MORE: nucifora.com.au

Did you know?

1 Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world
next to water.

2 While the vast majority of Australian tea is grown in
Far North Queensland, pockets of black and green tea
is grown in Northern NSW, Victoria and Tasmania.

3 Assam tea is native to Assam, India, and is known
for its body, briskness, malty flavour, and strong,
bright colour.

49 • tropicnow.com.au