Loose tea

[Mussina]

I am looking to buy some good quality loose tea that (ideally!) would be produced in the US. It will be made in a bodum tea pot. Is there good quality tea produced in the US or does the rest of the world the franchise on tea? Where would you recommend getting tea?

Thanks!

[cdh]

The only native US tea produced commercially is from South Carolina... Click here for more info. Having tried their stuff, it seemed to be a very run of the mill black tea. I'd not characterize it as distinctive or special.

I'd love to hear that others elsewhere in the US are doing interesting cultivation of Camellia Sinensis...

What exactly do you want to do with this loose tea you're looking for, anyway?

Edited July 5, 2007 by cdh (log)

[Beebs]

You'd be hard-pressed to find US-grown tealeaves from tea gardens in the US (aside from what cdh mentioned). A number of factors in North America in general are simply not conducive to widespread tea cultivation here, such as climate and cost.

Do you perhaps mean teas that are blended & packaged in the US by American tea companies? Harney, Republic of Tea, Mighty Leaf, etc. are all widely available, but the actual tealeaves would be imported from places like India, China, & Sri Lanka.

[jayt90]

If you are not close to a specialist shop, there is nice freshly fragrant orange pekoe from Lee Valley, Premium Ceylon, in a traditional tin.

An unusual source, but the tea is good.

ed. to add: I just checked the site and the company does not ship to the U.S.

Does anyone know a comparable product in the U.S?

Edited August 18, 2007 by jayt90 (log)

[JasonTrue]

I've talked to a farmer in Hawaii growing tea, but they cannot produce enough to sell much further than their estate.

Cost isn't a huge factor for tea production; Japan still produces a huge amount of tea, both low-end and high-end. I think the climate is a bigger factor, and the mountain climates required for high quality tea are often excluded from cultivation because most are national parks in the US.