Charleston Tea Plantation - Take A Tour - Giftshop

America's Classic (and only) Tea Plantation

Location & Contact Info:
6617 Maybank Highway
Wadmalaw Island, SC 29487
(843) 559-0383

www.charlestonteaplantation.com

Article written by: George W. Olney

Bill Hall, operating partner in the Charleston Tea Plantation, got the idea from a magazine article. Specifically, an article in a tea industry magazine that said it was impossible to have a profitable tea plantation in the US. Thus began Charleston Tea Plantation, the home of American Classic Tea.

To give some idea about the tea business, Bill is a third generation tea taster, of English ancestry by way of Canada, and was attending an international conference as part of his tea business in Argentina when he read the article. Said article, by the way, also stated that the only place that tea could grow in the continental US was in the Charleston area. Bill, thus inspired, looked around, purchased an experimental operation on Wadmalaw Island from Lipton in 1987, and the rest is history flavored with a gentle aroma and delicate taste.

Head southwest down Maybank Highway and you will eventually come to a sign on your left that says you are at the entrance to the Charleston Tea Plantation. A short ways down a dirt road leads you to a shady oasis of classically Southern wooden buildings overlooking 127 acres of tea plants. The main classically Southern building is a combination office, gift shop (highly recommended for the tea lover) and processing plant. The other classically Southern buildings have other purposes, but all of them blend into the shady forested area surrounding the plantation.

Tea has a long history in South Carolina, beginning with some ornamental plants imported to Middleton Plantation in 1799. Attempts at tea plantations were made over the next century or so, culminating in 1888 at the Pinehurst Tea Plantation in Summerville, owned by Dr. Charles Sheppard. The plants he developed, Camellia Sinensis, are the ones used today in American classic tea.

The Plantation has 320 varieties of the Camellia Sinensis, defined by such things as color, flavor, and production cycle, to name a few. Eight of these varieties are used to produce the tea made at the plantation. The tea plants have a 15-18 day growth cycle, with peaks and valleys in the cycle. Careful blending directed by experienced tasters such as Bill ensure a uniform quality.

Today, Bigelow Tea is a partner with Bill in the Tea Plantation, but Bill is the hands-on guy. Bill Hall is an affable, chatty individual who will fill your head with things tea if allowed to do so. A (short) quote from Bill will illustrate: "Tea is for anyone, especially because of its health benefits. Tea deteriorates with age, but our advantage is freshness."

Charleston Classic Tea comes in five loose tea varieties including Charleston Breakfast and the production from the first harvest of the year titled First Flush. Bagged varieties come in standard tea bags or a unique pyramidal bag.
American Classic Tea is produced without insecticides or pesticides and involves no extensive storage, soil preservation or tillage.

Come see the friendly people at the Charleston Tea Plantation and enjoy a chat, a tour, or just a complimentary sample. School or organizational tours are highly welcome. After all, it's the only tea plantation in America.

The Charleston Tea Plantation

America's Classic (and only) Tea Plantation