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,[1] but there is evidence that unmechanized tea production is viable, albeit with lower net profit margins.[2]
The Charleston Tea Garden, on Wadmalaw Island, outside of Charleston, South Carolina, is the only large-scale tea farm in the US, at 127 acres.[3] Smaller scale commercial farms are in the states of Alabama, Hawaii, Oregon, South Carolina, and Washington.[4]
Starting in the early 2010s, small-scale farms began selling tea to the general public, the largest of which being The Great Mississippi Tea Company, which grows seven acres of tea.[5] Smaller farms selling their tea online include Light of Day Organics in Michigan, Table Rock Tea Company in South Carolina, and Fleur De Lis Tea in Louisiana, among others.