Tea production in the United States

rdf:langString Tea production in the United States

rdf:langString July 2016

rdf:langString The first paragraph should make general remarks about the industry and not specific in naming either the Charleston plantation, Walmart or other particular brands or corporations; this information, if aspects of it are to be included at all, should be in a supplementary paragraph and not the article lead.

rdf:langString Camellia sinensis, the source of tea leaves and buds, can be grown in much of the United States. Commercial cultivation has been tried at various times and locations since the 1700s, but tea has remained a niche crop and has never been cultivated widely in the US. As of 2020, the US mainland has one relatively large plantation with full mechanization in Charleston, South Carolina, and many small commercial tea gardens that pick tea by hand. Some growers feel that tea production is not viable without some mechanization, but there is evidence that unmechanized tea production is viable, albeit with lower net profit margins. Most domestically grown teas are available through mail order and online purchases. As of 2016, the Charleston Tea Garden, on Wadmalaw Island, outside of Charleston, South Carolina, is the only large-scale tea plantation in the US, at 127 acres. Smaller scale commercial farms are in the states of Alabama, Hawaii, Oregon, South Carolina, and Washington. There are also a handful of commercial farms being developed in the states of South Carolina, Mississippi, New York and Texas, but they have yet to reach the point of selling product to the general public regularly.