Cork tour images
Cork: A pure natural produce of Portugal
Discovering cork tour
Museu do Traje, São Brás de Alportel
This is where the tour starts and ends
Alportel: Fonte Férrea
Alportel: Fonte Férrea
Alportel: Fonte Férrea
In June 2017 the creek was completely dry
Alportel: Cork oak forest
The forests around São Brás are naturally grown, producing the highest quality of cork
Young cork tree
Cork tree: mark
The number indicates the year of the latest harvest (2008), and C.M. stands for Câmara Municipal
Cork harvesting
Every seven years a part of the cortex of the cork ork is excoriated.
Cork tree
Only the main trunk is harvested regularly
Damaged cork tree
Cork factory in Mesquitas
After the harvest, the cork bark is stored outside for several months before it is processed.
Cork factory
At the left side bundles of processed cork of 65kg each are stapled to be delivered to other factories for final processing. The pile of cork bark in the background is cork of superior quality that needs selection and finishing by hand.
Bunch of preprocessed cork
Cork factory
The cork bark is cooked twice for one hour to o clean the cork, to extract water-soluble substances, to increase thickness and thus reduce density, to improve flexibility and elasticity.
Cork factory
This staple of quality cork is selected and cut to regular pieces by hand
Cork factory
Our guide Patricia explains how to distiguish the quality of the cork
Cork factory
The bark is selected and cut by hand
São Brás: Museu do Traje
Exhibition of carts and carriages in the courtyard of the museum
São Brás: Museu do Traje
This donkey cart was used to transport the harvested cork bark
São Brás: Museu do Traje
Exhibition in the former stables
São Brás: Museu do Traje
Exhibition of ancient cork harvesting and processing
São Brás: Museu do Traje
Ancient scale for cork bark
São Brás: Museu do Traje
Ancient tub to cook the bark and press
Cork stoppers
Only the expert can distinguish the quality of the cork used to cork a bottle