Monday, April 08, 2013

Tea Grown in Charleston, USA

Through the generosity of a colleague from Charleston, I am able to taste the only commercial tea of the C. Sinensis variety grown in the continental United States. These tea canisters are a product of Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina which has the heat but not the elevation.

When I peek inside the canisters,  the tea leaves don't look familiar, very shiny and crispy looking. The leaves are quite chopped to my surprise. These tea leaves look to be machine harvested judging by the uniform looking mounds of tea bushes on their website and all leaf grades appear to be represented- buds, orange pekoe, pekoe, souchongs, and larger. I had originally gone on their website to see if they offered any TGFOP but the tea company does not grade their tea. Does labor costs make such harvesting impractical? 

The taste is mild for both black and green varieties and will not offend the average tea drinker. But on second tasting, the black tea smelled and tasted quite peppery.


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