Charleston Tea Plantation Aug '10

Today We visited the Charleston Tea Plantation which
is the home of American Classic Tea; the only tea grown in America.

It is located on picturesque Wadmalaw Island in the heart of South Carolina's Lowcountry.  The Plantation is located off of the Maybank Highway.  Driving down Maybank is like taking a step back in time. Wadmalaw has not and cannot be commercially developed, therefore much of the land remains untouched . Our first reaction to driving through the miles of classic sea island landscape  is  that we might be lost.  But then we found a small sign directing us down a classic oak tree allee and then we were in there.

 Our first stop was the charming Plantation Gift Shoppe where we purchases tickets for a guided tour of the plantation..

 The adventurous and educational Trolleythat  explores the scenic grounds that produce American Classic Tea

 The knowledgeable tour guides give guests and understanding of the history and process of producing Tea in the United States and freely answer all questions asked.

The Plantation grounds include 127 acres of Camellia Sinensis tea plants.  One of the most frequently asked question is how do you keep it watered.  The answer is Mother Nature.  Wadmalaw Island averages over 100" of rainfall annually.  That is fully as much rain falls here as in the rain forests of South East Asia,and the warm winters, and  fast draining soil makes it a perfect location for growing tea.

 Of Course the plantation does keep several large retention ponds for use in irrigation during  periods of drought, but throughout most of the year these are primarily used by the migrating water fowl.

Another question is "How do the owners afford the cost of labor?"
The answer is that most of the process is mechanized.  The plantation has even developed a specialized harvesting machine so that tea leaves do not have to be harvested by hand. Labor is used however for pulling rogue hybridized plants from the crop fields.

We were also shown the grown area.  Most of the tea used to produce both black and green teas for sale comes from only a few varieties of the Camellia Sinensis plant.  The plant easily cross pollinates and hybrids form readily. There are over 320 varieties on the grounds of the Charleston Tea Plantation. The owners are constantly experimenting with these new varieties to produce the best tasting tea that can be grown in the USA.

Last we toured the  tea drying room and saw the large machinery that dries and sorts the tea in preparation for packaging.

To  read more on this fascinating place and its history

Click Here

Open 7 days a week, with the exception of a few holidays, the Charleston Tea Plantation is the perfect place to take a day trip. Bring the family, pack a lunch and enjoy the beauty of the tea fields. The experience is not only educational but more importantly one-of-a-kind. It is located at:
6617 Maybank Highway  Wadmalaws Island, SC 29487