So the day after our arrival in the area, we decided to drive to the Charleston Tea Garden which is nestled on Wadmalaw Island, a mere 20 miles from Lake Aire RV Park in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Now normally a 20 mile drive wouldn’t be a big deal but on this particular day, it was!

At the Tea Garden, two types of tours are available – a free 15 minute factory tour and a 45 minute narrated trolley tour ($18) around the grounds. The trolley tours, which can be booked on-line, run every hour beginning at 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Based on the reviews, it was an easy decision – we would take both tours. Due to our 11:00 a.m. departure from the coach, we were aiming for the 12:30 p.m. trolley tour. Sounded like a great plan…until it wasn’t!

Since Rob had read on their website that there were picnic tables on the garden grounds, we decided to stop at a nearby Publix to pick up subs to take with us. Boy, was that a big mistake! Road closure, construction and stop (more stop than anything) and go traffic is what made our 2 mile journey take more than 20 minutes!  Move forward a few feet, stop, sit and wait, move another few feet, then stop, sit and wait, move, stop, sit and wait, well, you get the picture. But finally our mission was accomplished!

Well, as luck would have it, things were finally moving along at a reasonable pace until we turned onto SC-700, a two lane narrow road with low live oak tree branches overhanging the road. Oh, no, what’s that up ahead taking up the entire road?

Oh crap, two very slow moving trucks carrying super wide loads were blocking the entire road! Each truck was carrying one half of a manufactured home! Did I mention the word slow? Slow as in 5 mph or less? Looked highly unlikely that we would make it on time! To make things worse, to avoid damage from the low hanging tree limbs draping over the road, the drivers were forced to steer their trucks into the oncoming lane, forcing drivers approaching from the opposite direction to pull off the road onto the grass and patiently wait until the massive two behemoths passed.

After miles and miles of this, with mounting frustration and impatience, Rob finally decided to take what appeared to be a paved side road (Rosebank Road). Despite the fact that it turned into a dirt road, Rob hit the gas, hoping that we would make it back to the main road ahead of the wide loads! Thankfully, we did!

Woo hoo! Finally we arrived at 12:44 p.m., obviously it was much too late to make the 12:30 p.m. tour! Just as a note, we had left Lake Aire at 11:00 a.m. so the 2 mile drive to Publix and the 17 mile drive to the Tea Garden took 1 hour and 44 minutes! Yikes!

Inside the Gift Shop, we purchased tickets to the 1:30 p.m. tour, then made our way up the stairs for the free factory tour which overlooks the production floor and starts every 15 minutes on the quarter hour.  Although nothing was being produced because of the time of year, we were able to see the equipment it takes to make the tea while narrated videos explained the entire process.

Between the narrated videos and the incredible amount of information shared with us by John, our trolley tour guide, we learned a lot. Although tea cultivation in America dates back to the 1700s, it wasn’t until the late 19th century that serious efforts to grow and produce tea commercially began. The land that now houses the Charleston Tea Garden was once part of a tea-growing experiment in Summerville, South Carolina. In the 1960s, tea bushes from that operation were transplanted to Wadmalaw Island, and in 1987, the Charleston Tea Plantation was officially established, thanks to the efforts of William Barclay Hall, a third-generation tea taster trained in London, who transformed the farm into a commercial operation.

A major turning point came in 2003, when the Bigelow family, already well-known in the tea industry, purchased the plantation. Their goal was to preserve this rare American tea-growing operation, keeping it separate from the Bigelow tea brand, and elevate its reach. With a commitment to quality and tradition, they rebranded it as the Charleston Tea Garden, ensuring its continued success as a working farm and tourist attraction. Today, the Garden has over 125,000 bushes and over 320 varieties of the Camellia sinensis tea plant on 147 acres.

Although the tea bushes thrive in the South Carolina climate due to the warm temperatures and ample rainfall, producing high quality tea requires a meticulous process of pruning, watering and harvesting.

• Pruning: Tea bushes are pruned regularly to maintain their shape and encourage the production of new leaves, which are the key to fresh tea. The bushes can be pruned up to eight times during the growing season.
• Watering: an underground irrigation system that taps into pure natural rainwater to keep the plants hydrated. The plantation is divided into 18 sections. Each section is bordered by a ditch for water run off because the tea bushes do not like to have wet feet. Tea plants need at least 60 inches of water per year. They love water, but hate having wet feet so making sure they are in a well drained environment (with sandy/rocky soil or planted on a slope) is essential. Our tour guide, John, pointed out some tea bushes that had died because the area received over 20 inches of rain one year!
• Harvesting: Unlike traditional tea-growing regions where tea is picked by hand, the Charleston Tea Garden employs a custom-built harvester known as the Green Giant, a cross between a cotton picker and tobacco harvester, to gently trim the topmost leaves and buds—the youngest and most flavorful parts of the plant. Harvesting occurs from late April through September, with new growth ready for picking every 15–18 days.

 

Once harvested, the tea leaves are placed on a slow-moving belt to wither the leaves which removes about 15% of the liquid over a period of eighteen hours. The tea leaves are then shredded into small bits.

Undergoing a carefully controlled processing method of oxidation influences the flavor, aroma, and color of the tea.

• Green Tea: The leaves are steamed immediately after harvesting to halt oxidation, preserving their fresh, grassy taste. This tea does not go through the oxidation process.
• Oolong Tea: Leaves are partially oxidized, typically 15 minutes, resulting in a flavor profile between green and black tea—smooth, floral, and slightly fruity. This is usually what is served in Chinese restaurants.
• Black Tea: To create bold and robust black tea, the leaves are fully oxidized for 50 minutes.

 

Finally the tea is dried and sifted to remove any bits of stalks or fiber. To produce flavored tea such as mint or peach, the leaves are sprayed in a huge drum with the natural oil of the desired flavoring and allowed to sit for a short period of time.

The tea is then shipped to the Bigelow Tea Company in Fairview, CT where it is packaged, then shipped back which is a much cheaper option than duplicating a packaging facility in Charleston. The Bigelow Tea and the Charleston Tea are kept totally separate.

As part of the trolley tour, we stopped at the Greenhouse where tea plants are propagated from cuttings and nurtured in a climate-controlled environment until they’re ready for the fields.

The greenhouse features advanced technology, including automated watering, shade panels, and climate controls. Once planted, it takes 3 to 4 years before tea plants are ready to be harvested. John explained that they once used lady bugs to eat aphids but they all escaped so now they use wasps. Very interesting hearing about the different methodologies they use to propagate the tea bushes.

Once again on the tram, John directed our attention to a very large piece of equipment pruning the tops of the tea bushes as well as several workers who were hand weeding.

Before the tour ended, we were asked who was the biggest consumer of tea? Most everyone thought it was England but it is actually Ireland with England being a close second.

Of course, before leaving we purchased several boxes of tea bags ($8.95 each), choosing several of our favorite flavors that we had sampled, Peachy Peach Tea, Original Tea, and Carolina Mint Tea. Unlike other teas on the market, the unique shape of their “Charleston Tea Garden” pyramid tea bags accommodate a larger leaf, providing a richer smoother taste and are 100% biodegradable.

As the tour wrapped up, John recommended that we visit another attraction located nearby but more about that in our next post.