The Charleston Tea Garden is located about twenty miles south of Charleston, South Carolina on Wadmalaw Island. Owned by the Bigelow Tea Company, it grows the tea sold under the brand name American Classic Tea and Charleston Tea Garden from the Camellia sinensis plant. Every year they used to host the First Flush Festival celebrating the beginning of the harvest season.
In the late 1700s, French botanist, André Michaux, brought the Camellia sinensis plant to the United States and gave it to Henry Middleton. They planted the tea at Middleton’s plantation. The tea seemed to thrive in areas like Charleston and Georgetown. It took many attempts by multiple companies and individuals to successfully establish a tea company without an early failure. These failures included plantations in Georgetown, Greenville, and Summerville, the longest of which lasted less than twenty years. The Thomas J Lipton Company, fearing an inability to import tea due to unrest in tea producing countries and the inability to import Chinese tea, decided to create a research and development center on Wadmalaw Island. [1] In 1960, they bought the former Pinehurst Tea Plantation in Summerville and in 1963 they moved out to Wadmalaw Island and operated a research station for about twenty-five years. [1] [2] The Charleston Tea Garden, as it is known today, was established in 1987 when Mack Fleming and William (Bill) Barclay Hall bought the land and the research station from the Lipton Company. [1] [3] Mack Fleming—a horticultural professor at Trident Technical College—had been running the garden for the Lipton Company and Bill Hall was a third generation tea tester from England. [1] [2] Along with establishing the garden, they created the American Classic Tea brand. This tea is still grown at the garden as of 2012 and the brand continued even though the Fleming-Hall partnership did not last past 2003. [1] They had some differences in opinion on how to run the garden and ran into trouble when profit margins began to drop. [4] The garden was put up for auction at this point, where the R.C. Bigelow Company in Connecticut bought it for $1.28 million. [1] [4] Bill Hall joined Bigelow at the garden and keeps it running and growing the tea to sell across the United States. [1] [5] The Charleston Tea Garden was opened to locals and tourists to visit and tour the grounds and the factory. [3] The Garden changed its name from Charleston Tea Plantation in June 2020 owing to negative historical connotations of "plantation" in the United States and to clarify its lack of connection to antebellum slavery; "tea plantation" is otherwise used as a neutral term worldwide. [6]
The garden uses the Camellia sinensis plant to produce the black tea. It is a bush that the workers have to keep manicured and in straight rows in order to harvest properly. These bushes grow from clones, not seeds to ensure that every plant grown at the garden is exactly the same to keep the flavor of the tea consistent from season to season. [7] Mack Fleming, while working for Lipton, invented the Green Giant—a cross between a cotton picker and tobacco harvester—which is still used today to harvest the tea leaves. [7] [8] This machine cuts off the top layer of leaves from the bushes, collects them, and then they are taken to the factory for the rest of the production process. The main point of production is to dry the leaves. The leaves go through a series of drying processes where first they are laid out for twelve to eighteen hours to wither, then the oxidation process for a little under an hour, and finally they are baked to remove the rest of the moisture. The excess sticks and fibers are removed and the tea is packaged. The tea is harvested from May to October. [7]
The garden packages American Classic Tea and Charleston Tea Garden tea. It sells nine different flavors in tea bags or the loose tea form and 5 flavors in ready to drink bottle teas. These flavors include the regular American Classic Tea, Charleston Breakfast, Governor Grey, Plantation Peach, Rockville Raspberry, Carolina Mint, Cinnamon Spice, Island Green Tea, Island Green Tea with Mint. [3] Wal-Mart formerly sold the tea under its American Choice label, [5] which has helped the local farm get word out to more consumers. As a small farm, they needed a way to spread their name and make sure the people in the United States knew about their locally grown tea and they hoped consumers would jump on the bandwagon of buying local products. [8] It helped when the White House discovered the locally grown tea and since 1987, the American Classic Tea brand of the Charleston Tea Garden has been the official tea of the White House. [9]
The Charleston Tea Garden is located on Wadmalaw Island, outside of Charleston, South Carolina and is open to visitors every day of the week. Admission is free and they offer tours, tea tastings, and other amenities. [7] The factory tour takes visitors inside the factory and covers history, harvesting, and production. The Trolley Tour covers the grounds and the growing of the Camellia sinensis plant to produce the tea. The garden also offers a tour guided by Bill Hall, called the Bill Hall Exclusive, which covers every aspect of the garden in more detail. Group tours and school field trips frequent the garden and private events are often held on the grounds. There are multiple spaces for weddings, receptions, and corporate events offered by the garden. [3]
Since Bigelow bought the Charleston Tea Garden, they have been working on updating the machinery, the process, and expanding the grounds as well as production. They planned to have an increase Camellia sinensis plants to help increase production. Drawing on his many years in South America Bill Hall brought in more modern tea manufacturing equipment to update the factory. Another improvement made after Bigelow bought the farm was to upgrade the old irrigation system and install a newer, more-efficient system to help cover all of the 127 acres of tea plants. One of Bigelow’s main goals is to increase production through expansion and efficiency while retaining the charming atmosphere that so many people love to visit. [9]
The First Flush Tea Festival was an annual festival hosted by the Charleston Tea Garden marking the start of the tea harvesting season. The name, First Flush, means the new leaves that are beginning to grow on the tea plant bushes that are ready to be harvested for production. The garden served the visitors the first tea produced in the new season for free by allowing them the chance to taste it in hopes of pulling in new customers. The garden also brought in local food vendors to set up booths and local musicians to entertain the crowds. There was always an area for kids as well, including a playground or jump castle. The festival began in 2006 and ended after the ninth annual First Flush Festival. [3]
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of Camellia sinensis, an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Myanmar. Tea is also made, but rarely, from the leaves of Camellia taliensis. After plain water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world. There are many different types of tea; some have a cooling, slightly bitter, and astringent flavour, while others have profiles that include sweet, nutty, floral, or grassy notes. Tea has a stimulating effect in humans primarily due to its caffeine content.
Robert Fortune was a Scottish botanist, plant hunter and traveller, best known for introducing around 250 new ornamental plants, mainly from China, but also Japan, into the gardens of Britain, Australia, and the USA. He also played a role in the development of the tea industry in India in the 19th century.
White tea may refer to one of several styles of tea which generally feature young or minimally processed leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant.
In the tea industry, tea leaf grading is the process of evaluating products based on the quality and condition of the tea leaves themselves.
Camellia sinensis is a species of evergreen shrub or small tree in the flowering plant family Theaceae. Its leaves and leaf buds are used to produce black and green tea. Common names include tea plant, tea shrub, and tea tree.
Assam tea is a black tea named after the region of its production, Assam, India. It is manufactured specifically from the plant Camellia sinensis var. assamica (Masters). The Assam tea plant is indigenous to Assam—initial efforts to plant the Chinese varieties in Assam soil did not succeed. Assam tea is now mostly grown at or near sea level and is known for its body, briskness, malty flavour, and strong, bright colour. Assam teas, or blends containing Assam tea, are often sold as "breakfast" teas. For instance, Irish breakfast tea, a maltier and stronger breakfast tea, consists of small-sized Assam tea leaves.
Nilgiri tea is a drink made by infusing leaves of Camellia sinensis that is grown and processed in the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, India. The leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white and oolong teas. It is generally described as being a brisk, fragrant and full-bodied tea. The region produces both rolled and crush, tear, curl tea and it is predominantly used for blending. Nilgiri tea is also used for making iced tea and instant tea.
R.C. Bigelow, Inc. is an American manufacturer of dried teas based in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by Ruth C. Bigelow in 1945, based on a recipe she marketed as "Constant Comment" tea. The company markets over 50 varieties of tea, including black, green and herbal, all of which are blended in Fairfield. The company has other plants in Boise, Idaho, and Louisville, Kentucky. Their Charleston Tea Garden in South Carolina is the only tea garden in America, but it does not produce the company's teas. Still a 100% family-owned business, Bigelow employs 350 people and had annual sales in 2020 of approximately US$188.9 million.
The history of tea spreads across multiple cultures over the span of thousands of years. With the tea plant Camellia sinensis native to East Asia and probably originating in the borderlands of southwestern China and northern Myanmar. One of the earliest accounts of tea drinking is dated back to China's Shang dynasty, in which tea was consumed as a medicinal drink. An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD, in a medical text written by Chinese physician Hua Tuo. It first became known to the western world through Portuguese priests and merchants in China during the early 16th century. Drinking tea became popular in Britain during the 17th century. The British introduced commercial tea production to British India, in order to compete with the Chinese monopoly on tea.
Nepali tea is a beverage made from the leaves of tea plants grown in Nepal. They are distinctive in appearance, aroma and taste, but are similar in many ways to tea produced in Darjeeling tea, perhaps because the eastern zones of Nepal have geography and topography similar to Darjeeling. Its relatively smaller production quantities mean that teas from Nepal are less well known than those from Darjeeling.
Darjeeling tea is a tea made from Camellia sinensis var. sinensis that is grown and processed in Darjeeling district or Kalimpong district in West Bengal, India. Since 2004, the term Darjeeling tea has been a registered geographical indication referring to products produced on certain estates within Darjeeling and Kalimpong. The tea leaves are processed as black tea, though some estates have expanded their product offerings to include leaves suitable for making green, white, and oolong teas.
Wadmalaw Island is an island located in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is one of the Sea Islands, a chain of tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean.
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 economically 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.
Magnolia Plantation and Gardens is a historic house with gardens located on the Ashley River at 3550 Ashley River Road west of Ashley, Charleston County, South Carolina. It is one of the oldest plantations in the South, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Magnolia Plantation is located near Charleston and directly across the Ashley River from North Charleston. The house and gardens are open daily; an admission fee is charged.
India is one of the largest tea producers in the world, although over 70 percent of its tea is consumed within India itself. A number of renowned teas, such as Assam and Darjeeling, also grow exclusively in India. The Indian tea industry has grown to own many global tea brands and has evolved into one of the most technologically equipped tea industries in the world. Tea production, certification, exportation and all facets of the tea trade in India are controlled by the Tea Board of India.
Firefly Distillery is a company located near Park Circle North Charleston, South Carolina, that produces a line of alcoholic beverages and licenses its brand name to the Sazerac Company for Firefly branded products produced elsewhere. Some Firefly branded products sold outside of South Carolina are actually produced in Kentucky by Sazerac rather than being produced by Firefly itself.
Taiwanese tea includes four main types: oolong tea, black tea, green tea and white tea. The earliest record of tea trees found in Taiwan is from 1717 in Shui Sha Lian (水沙連), present-day Yuchi and Puli, Nantou County. Some of the teas retain the island country's former name, Formosa.
Sri Lanka has a climate and varied elevation that allows for the production of both Camellia sinensis var. assamica and Camellia sinensis var. sinensis, with the assamica varietal holding the majority of production. Tea production is one of the main sources of foreign exchange for Sri Lanka, and accounts for 2% of GDP, contributing over US$1.3 billion in 2021 to the economy of Sri Lanka. It employs, directly or indirectly, over 1 million people, and in 1995 directly employed 215,338 on tea plantations and estates. In addition, tea planting by smallholders is the source of employment for thousands whilst it is also the main form of livelihood for tens of thousands of families. Sri Lanka is the world's fourth-largest producer of tea. In 1995, it was the world's leading exporter of tea, with 23% of the total world export, and Sri Lanka ranked second on tea export earnings in 2020 after China. The highest production of 340 million kg was recorded in 2013, while the production in 2014 was slightly reduced to 338 million kg. India has additionally guaranteed Sri Lanka a shipment of 65,000 metric tons of urea. Sri Lanka's troubled execution of an organic agriculture initiative had pushed the country perilously close to an agricultural crisis. Given the surge in global fertilizer prices, it is improbable that Sri Lanka could procure fertilizer at prevailing market rates.
Kangra tea is a tea from the Kangra district in Himachal Pradesh, India. Both black tea and green tea have been produced in the Kangra Valley since the mid-19th century. Kangra tea was given the Geographical Indication status in 2005.
O'Sulloc Tea is a traditional Korean tea manufactured and sold by the South Korean company O'Sulloc. The company was founded in 1979 by Suh Sung-hwan. O'Sulloc Corporation was established in September 2020 as an independent subsidiary of the Amorepacific Corporation, with 100% ownership. O'Sulloc Tea originates from the cultivated fields on Jeju Island. It is also an internationally recognized brand in other countries such as China, Japan, and the United States. O'Sulloc teas consist of a range of black and green teas based on traditional Korean tea culture. O'Sulloc teas have various certifications, and in 2010 were certified with the National Organic Program (NOP) certification by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
We no longer make tea for Walmart. They stopped buying our tea when they discontinued the Sam's Choice line of products. Mr. Fleming is no longer Mr. Hall's Partner, they split up in 2003 and Bigelow Tea became our partner.