Visited September 2013. Nerada Tea Plantation is a wonderful place to stop in at, you will get to see how Tea grows(beautiful, looks like a hedge) look at some of the old machinery, go into the café & shop and read about the history of Nerada Tea. If you wish to, we did, sit down & enjoy a fresh pot of tea & some lovely homemade Anzac biscuits while viewing the tea plantation. The day we were there a staff member came over & asked us if we would like to see a Tree Kangaroo & kindly took a few of us to see it. They offer a wide range of tea's & accesseries to purchase.
Heard good things about the tea room but this was shocking. No greeting, no info about any tour. No interest from the staff. We ordered the Devonshire cream tea. The scone was good, light and tasty but the tea was awful. The tree kangaroo was the highlight but wouldn't bring me back to Nerada.
Quite apart from the tea itself, for anyone interested in production processes a visit to Nerada tea plantation makes for a fascinating hour or so. Can't speak for the cafe, but the viewing platform in the factory is well worth the time invested. The air inside is roasting hot and smells of fresh-mown grass; you look on as the green sludgey leaves turn into tea as we know it (see conveyors in the pic). The process is clearly explained in a series of posters to the rear of the platform. Lots to see.
We had a lovely stop at Nerada Teahouse as part of a charity bike ride. I had only ever been to the previous tea house which was 30 years ago, so this was a pleasant surprise. Everyone had said that I can expect to see tree kangaroos, so I'm not sure whey I was surprised to see so many. I loved trying the various varieties of tea and some of them are now my new favourites. The sandwiches which were supplied to the riders were also very tasty with a wide variety of breads and fillings. This is one place I'll be stopping with my family next time we are driving past.
Reached there at 3.30.Apparently it closes at 4 pmThe lady at tea centre clearly was not interested in taking any more work and did her utmost to discourage us from ordering anything . Considering that it was tea centre , would have expected some sample tea tastings - Zilch The paid food was poor , paid tea was average.And nothing veg!The tea processing factory was the same story - saw three guys cleaning the machines! Horrible experience and a total waste of time!
Over the top for their charges as I can buy 200 Nerada Tea Bags at Coles for $3.65 and they were charging nearly $5 for half that amount. We had a pot of tea to try to warm up a bit but the horrid milk that was served tasted terrible. Also, I make a better brew at home. Come on Nerada, there are enough small dairy produces and good milk suppliers in the district and you have the audacity to serve the cheapest milk around. As soon as we got there we were told to go around the back to their shop to order the offensive cuppa. The hard sell doesn't work with us and a pleasant greeting and service would have been better appreciated. Won't be back.
I've been a huge fan of Nerada Organics Tea (you can get them at most major Australian supermarkets) because they're not only Fairtrade certified, but they're also made from organic tea.My friend drove us here and it was a piece of heaven on earth! The tea plantation was a great view, with the factory tour also providing an educational insight into the processes involved.We also managed to spot the resident tree kangaroos up on the trees and the turkeys.The home made scones were simply TO DIE FOR! I didn't make it past one but I packed the other away.I will definitely go back here. Great for families and children.
Home made scones and biscuits as well as light meals are on offer. This is a great educational experience for all. Not too mention the various types of teas you can try. Would have to be one of the prettiest drive and the view from the tea farm is spectacular.
I first visited the plantation on a school excursion when I was about 11 years old. funny how you never forget things like that. We kind of stumbled across the plantation by accident, so we made a tiny detour to check it out. We were fascinated with the tree kangaroos that we'd heard about. My partner is a kiwi and he'd never heard of them before, I think he thought I was pulling his leg....only to discover a family of 7 of them live in the trees just beside the café area. I got photos too, just to prove they are real. I love a good cuppa and I bought heaps of tea to keep me going and we had the most amazing scones with real butter. They just fell apart and were so fresh.
We visited the Nerada Tea Plantation on the weekend and were shown around by the Manager Tony and his wife Beverley. Tony explained all facets of tea production as we walked around the factory. His knowledge and passion for tea was infectious. A highlight was seeing the tree kangaroos in the trees at the front of the plantation.