South Carolina Tea Plantation – Visit
I had to do a little research on this because once I posted I visited the “only” tea plantation in North America I received feedback that indeed that was incorrect, there was one in: Texas, Idaho and several other places around our great country.
I contacted the GM of Charleston Tea Plantation but the call was not returned, so I have no real understanding, I can only assume (we know what that means right) that it’s the word “plantation”. I hope to make contact with someone from the Charleston Tea Plantation to clarify this as well and when/if I do I will let you know.
I did find this on their website:
*There are many hundreds of tea plantations in the world. With the exception of the Charleston Tea Plantation, they’re all located in Asia, Africa and South America, many thousands of miles from our shores.
Again come back to the word “plantation” where the teas are grown, picked and processed all the same spot. Without real contact, we can only guess or assume.
My experience with tea plantations is one where the teas are handpicked and processed so this was a real treat for me to be able to visit one while visiting my friend Mark in South Carolina.
Mark is a real trooper, everywhere we go he knows I’ll be searching out tea. Here’s a picture of Mark and I going through the tour in Charleston.
History
The Charleston Tea Plantation is located on historic Wadmalaw Island in the heart of the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
The history of the Island dates back to mid-June of 1666 when it is believed that Captain Robert Sanford and the crew of the Berkeley Bay landed on the shores of what is now known as Rockville, South Carolina.
On June 23, 1666, Sanford and his crew claimed the land for England and the Lords Proprietors. Today, Wadmalaw is considered to be one of Charleston’s most unspoiled islands. It is approximately 10 miles long and 6 miles wide. The Island’s only connection to the mainland is a bridge that crosses over Church Creek
“The Charleston Tea Plantation was purchased by family-owned Bigelow Tea Company in 2003, when it became the dream of Eunice and David Bigelow and local partner Bill Hall to combine talents and share their love of tea as a vibrant piece of Americana for all to enjoy. Today, the beautiful 127-acre Charleston Tea Plantation has become the standard bearer for the long and illustrious American tea story.”
The Plantation
My first concern was Glyphosate and if it was sprayed onto the tea plants, within minutes of the tour it was announced that there are no chemicals used in the growing or processing of the teas. This makes me so happy. Chemicals are horrible.
From the website:
- “We do NOT use any pesticides (herbicides, fungicides and insecticides)!”
In fact, the only thing used is nitrogen to help the roots to grow. Because there is nitrogen used this is the only reason the plantations teas cannot be called organic.
Wadmalaw provides the perfect environment for propagating tea. With its sandy soils, subtropical climate and average rainfall of 52 inches per year, Wadmalaw possesses idyllic conditions for the Camellia Sinensis tea plant. This plant is currently used to produce both black and green teas and exists in over 320 varieties on the 127 acre grounds of the Charleston Tea Plantation.
The trolley tour is so worth the fee and you get a first hand look at the plantation and are free to ask as many questions as you’d like. I hope you get Bob as your tour guy, he was fantastic.
Hearing the whole process and seeing young tea plants following the chain from seed to picking was enlightening. When do you ever get to see this in the United States?
One thing that did not happen was getting remotely close to a tea plant, it was not going to happen and I get it, people picking the leaves, taking the seed pods. I get it but that opportunity would have been way cool.
The tour takes about 35 minutes and like I said above, well worth it.
There is also a Bill Hall Exclusive tour, this is a behind the scene tour. Bill Hall oversees the daily operations at the Charleston Tea Plantation and the production and development of its product line. Bill is also a world renowned tea taster and tea maker.
The Gift Shop
Inside the gift shop (and you have to check out the gift shop) is another tour that is complimentary. This tour is of the processing plant and equally as interesting. It goes from where the trolly tour leaves off as the tea leaves are brought to the plant and processed. It’s not a huge plant, but they get the job done.
This is the home of Charleston Tea Plantation teas – nine very special flavors of tea, including our original American Classic Tea. This is the only brand of tea in the world that is made exclusively with 100% tea grown in America.
I have to mention the “green giant” a one of a kind made right there on the plantation tea picking machine, it’s pretty interesting and I did not see it run but it looks pretty interesting and it gets the job done.
We cannot forget the frog on the from patio, sitting and enjoying a cup of tea!
The gift shop is large and packed full of tea items, there are also two stations of tea, one hot and one cold where you can sample the Charleston Teas.
I tried a few and made my decision to purchase the Earl Grey and Green Mint. The teas are both processed in the plant as well as flavored with natural flavors. As always I read the labels and made sure my choices contained all ingredients and nothing listed “natural flavors”.
The people that work in the store are so friendly and while I did not get a chance to meet Dave Bigelow I got to experience the tea plantation hospitality through Bob and the people working inside the store.
My reviews of the teas will follow in a separate blog.
The landscape is so beautiful and just in case you are looking for a wedding venue, you may want to check out the Charleston Tea Plantation. The plantation is full of incredible oak trees (some are sooo big) and of course the lush green fields. You may just want to give the plantation a look.
My suggestion is, if you get close to Charleston South Carolina make a stop at the Charleston Tea Plantation, tell them Lisa from My Tea Vault sent you.
Let me know when you do and what you think, I’d love to hear your feedback as well.
