American Tea Production

Did you know that there is tea growing in America? If you read my blog often, you may remember that I'm growing some in my apartment, but I'm talking much larger scale here! Perhaps you've heard of Charleston Tea Plantation, or heard mention of tea in Hawaii, Washington or Oregon. But I bet you didn't know there's a tea plantation in Alabama! Or that tea can grow in lots of places. You can grow tea in most of the Southeast up to southern NC (including Athens, GA) and on North America's West Coast from Vancouver Island, British Columbia down to Mexico. I recently had the pleasure of covering the growing phenomenon of American-grown tea for World Tea News. Excerpt:

The way William Hall, partner in South Carolina’s Charleston Tea Plantation, tells it, tea plants were grown in South Carolina for decorative purposes as early as 1799. (After all, the sinensis or “Chinese” in Latin, variety is just one of many camellia plants.) A compelling course of events, involving commercial failures, and abandoned fields and research stations, eventually led to Charleston Tea Plantation, self-dubbed “America’s only tea garden.”

However, South Carolina isn’t the only state growing tea. Agricultural consultant John Vendeland said you could “very successfully” grow tea in most of the Southeast and West Coast, just like other camellias. We interviewed growers in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Alabama and found that many had origins not unlike Hall’s.


You can read more on tea production in America on World Tea News.

Shincha is Here!

Ito En recently announced the arrival of their coveted Shincha, or Japanese spring tea. It is a fresh and (I think) delicious first flush green tea that tea aficionados tend to get dreamy over. It's also very high in vitamin C and the antioxidant catechin. From Ito En's press release:

"We are happy to announce that we have received our first lots of Shincha, the prized first flush of Japanese green tea, from Kagoshima Prefecture, one of Japan's main tea growing regions, located on the island of Kyushu. Shincha's fresh character makes it one of the most anticipated teas of the year. Supplies of this tea are limited and frequently sell out. We are currently taking orders for Kagoshima's Premium and Superior Grades.

Kagoshima Premium, 3 oz. in our signature canister, $30
Kagoshima Superior, 3 oz. in our signature canister, $40

Unlike the widely available Sencha style green tea, Shincha is only lightly steamed, which gives the tea its lively taste. This gentle processing also means that Shincha's signature taste remains at its peak for only a few months. Devotees insist that Shincha should not be consumed after the end of the summer."

Mmm... You can get Ito En's Shincha on their tea retail site or, if you're in NYC, at their physical location, 822 Madison Avenue (at 69th Street). I'm hoping to go buy some this week. I'll let you know what I think!