Pinkies up!

Tucked away in the lush forests and rich farmlands of the South Carolina islands, the only tea plantation in America has made its home. Following a fourteen year ownership by locals Mack Flemming and William Hall, the Bigelow family purchased the plantation back in 2003 and immediately began renovations. Their goal was not to change what was there, but to create a more efficient production system that still remained true to the age-old process of tea-making and also to preserve a great piece of American history. Located just thirty five minutes from Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms, the plantation offers visitors the chance, not only to see the grounds, but to go inside the production building, watching the process from start to finish. From May to October, visitors might get the chance to see another item thoroughly unique to the plantation. A giant tea gatherer, lovingly nicknamed “The Green Giant”, is a hybrid cotton picker and corn thresher, created for the sole purpose of gathering the top 10 - 15 days growth of new tea. It can be seen traveling slowly up and down each row of tea leaves, collecting the top buds and storing them for later transporation to the factory.
After exploring the fields and watching the process of tea creation, there’s a chance that you might run in to Mr. William Barclay Hall, a third generation tea taster who bought the plantation in 1987 and stayed on as partner to assist the Bigelow family in keeping the quality consistent with what he, and the rest of South Carolina’s loyal tea drinkers, have become accustomed.
On our visit, we were given the chance to accompany Mr. Hall into the fields, where he expounded on the process of tea production and the tenacity with which you have to supervise the harvesting and production. He told us the famous story of how tea came to be, when, over 5,000 years ago, a camellia leaf (the tea leaves on the plantation are known as camellia sinensis) fell into the Emperor of China’s boiling water. The emperor was so enraptured with the taste, he declared his water should always be prepared that way. An almost fanatical light seemed to come into Mr. Hall’s eyes as he told the story, plucking a perfect tea bud while he spoke. He reiterated the difficulty in maintaining the perfect cup of tea. “The tea is perfect on the farm and ruined in the factory” He said, laughing a little but we all knew how seriously he took his job. His firm supervision of the process was worth it as we took sips of tea made from the first finished tea leaves of the day. The aroma of the freshly dried leaves was amazing and the taste was beyond anything you’d get in a tin from Tetleys. The tea was naturally a little sweet with a touch of nuttiness to it. After a few cups at a picnic table under the sprawling oaks overlooking the tea fields, we declared ourselves hooked.
The beauty and peace of the Charleston Tea Plantation is worth the drive in itself, but the beautiful, quality taste of the tea and the graciousness of the hosts at the farm more than make up for the short, scenic drive. Should you be looking for something to do off island, this is by far your best choice. The chance to see a one of a kind plantation, unique to our country and located less than an hour from the islands is an opportunity that should not be missed.