Charleston Tea Garden

I wanted to make sure I wrote a note for the reputedly “only tea garden in the US” (so says their tea packet packaging… but this is an OLLLDD teabag… probably things have changed by now in the state of the tea world.) I know I for one, and probably many others here on Steepster, hope one day that derk will also have “the other tea garden in America”.  We’re all supporting you, derk! :D  I DO know that they have since stopped calling themselves a “tea plantation” which is a good thing and surprising that it took this long?  But I’m a Northerner and America is all over the place. The package also says this is tea grown in Charleston but originally from China and India… and I would say the taste of it leans more towards India.  It tastes like Ceylon to me!  Neither good nor bad in flavor.  It’s TEA.  Gets a bit bitey when cold.   I actually have been to Charleston as a kid.  I have a great aunt there. I really only remember that it’s close to the ocean! 

Friend of mine did the Charleston Tea Garden tour this spring and signed up to be notified when the first 2023 flush was available, and sent a little sample my way.

I’ve always thought Charleston’s tea was a little on the acidic/coppery side, so this was a welcome surprise. It’s still not especially strong—I haven’t met an American tea that is—but there’s a nice brown-sugary finish to it that their retail-grade offerings doesn’t have. Nice and pleasant without additives.

I’m enjoying this! Its a mild and gentle Earl, which I prefer to a heavier Earl. I like bergamot, but I don’t like being hit over the head by bergamot, you know?
Sorry my notes have been so light and infrequent! I am in the middle of both the busy season at work, and a week and a half from the opening of the play I’m in.
Whew! Tea is certainly being drunk, but not logged as reliably.

My sister went to a tea garden/plantation last year, and brought me a tin of Earl Grey back for Christmas.
Its a very mild Earl, light on the bergamot, which is how I like my Earls.
How neat to find an American grown tea. I’ll have to visit one day!

This is a semi-regular breakfast tea for me. It’s a little on the lighter side, not as robust as some of my other choices, but good for a slow. leisurely wake up.

This was a solid black tea I love english breakfast while studying and it has beautiful notes of caramel and dark full-bodied mouthfeel.

I had high hopes for this tea, but was disappointed. It’s drinkable but there is really nothing to distinguish it from any other commercial, mass produced tea sitting on the shelves of supermarkets across America. The fact that it was grown in the U.S. is interesting but doesn’t make it a better tea. I believe they are a subsidiary of Bigelows, now.

Dryness in my mouth
Not just drinking hot water
Flavored question mark

Pyramid bag, leaves bigger and smaller. I get an odd sensation when drinking this, like it blocks my tastebuds. I’m drinking something smoother than water, but I don’t really taste anything until after I’ve swallowed.

Backlogging.I got this from Erin thank you very much. This was really good. A good medium strength black tea and smelled really good and tasted good. And I added some sugar.

Hmmmm mixed feelings about this tea. First off, the leaves are that awkward size where they would be fairly large for a tea bag, but not really significant enough to be loose leaf. The smell is beautiful and fresh, nothing really specific about the smell, just wonderfully fresh smelling tea.

I seeped the first brew about 1.5 minutes, it was a bright amber color, not as dark as I was expecting. The smell after brewing is….odd. Kind of a dull sourness, there is no bite to the sourness, just unpleasant. Luckily that smell didn’t correspond to the taste. It’s a very light tasting black, not really what I would expect from a ‘breakfast’ tea. Not much astringency at all, though I noticed a tiny bit of dryness. Pretty basic tea for me, but I also like basic teas. I think I would probably spend the money to get a bunch of Lipton or red rose bags rather than this next time though.

Not bad, just nothing extraordinary enough to invest in more of. I hear that their flavored teas are yummier, i should try those

I have had a bunch of different teas from the Charleston Tea Plantation sitting in a drawer, and with the exception of Plantation Peach – which was YUMMY! especially iced – I have failed to taste them! Gmathis inspired me this morning. When I saw her review of this tea, I thought, “Hey, I have that!”

I used two sachets in an 18 ounce Stump pot and steeped for three minutes. The liquor was orange/ amber. There is a light sweet potato scent that intensifies when your kid adds a bucket of sugar to her cup! As is my habit, I took it plain first because it was my first time drinking it, and it was a smooth enough cup of tea to be taken without milk. There is a slight hint of breakfast tea bite that would probably be stronger if you want it just by adding more tea or increasing your steep time. Not bad, and it comes from an island just a few hours drive from me that I still haven’t managed to visit!

I tried it next with a bit of sugar, and I thought it odd that sugar increased the sense of bite. If you like an Assam to kick your butt into gear, you would like that! Next I added a splash of milk to smooth that bite. It was a decent cup of tea that way as well.

Overall, I think I liked it best absolutely plain. My daughters were not wild about it, but they add LOTS of sugar and milk to most of their teas so they tend to like things with more Assam in them.

Another surprise selection from one of the little art shops on the Carthage MO square! This is my first outing with the looseleaf version of Charleston Breakfast. You can catch the subtle, mildly wheaty notes much better when it’s liberated from the bag. Light and smooth, even at a longer steep (4:00 today).

Looks like I liked this when I had my first sample about a year ago; I’m liking it even better this morning. It has some dark and just-barely sweet cocoa personality that’s kin to super-fine estate teas from outside the U.S.

All the Charleston Plantation teas I’ve tried have rated a pretty good or better, but at least for this morning, this is nearing superlative.

Nice, gentle, smooth, a little sweet. Enjoying mine without milk. It’s been a while since I’ve had Charleston Tea Plantation’s American Classic, but I think this is the better of the two—less of a sharp tang on the tongue.

P.S. Ices down nicely, too.

THis was part of the sampler given to me as a gift from the south. It has a really odd taste,as if I were to eat the plant straight out of the dirt. It feels more like a tea I would have to be in the mood for,so i’ll keep it tucked away for a good breakfast, Who knows? It might be really good then!

Received this tea yesterday from Bigelow. This is MUCH better than the Classic. Brews fast so give it a two-minute steep with near-boiled water or even three minutes if you like your tea with a more bold flavour. I still prefer the Ceylon blends, but this tea is definitely something with which I’ll experiment. I ripped a bag open and the leaf is a nice size which explains why it infuses so well. A very pleasant brew. It’s nice to know that they are paying attention to tea in the Lower 48!

*Addendum: I just blended it with a bag of Bigelow Premium Ceylon in a ten-ounce mug for three minutes and it was excellent!

I was in Charleston, South Carolina, last week and just couldn’t resist picking up some loose leaf tea grown on the Charleston Tea Plantation, the only tea plantation in the United States. The Charleston Breakfast Tea variety brewed for four minutes, resulting in a vibrant amber color. The flavor is pleasant, although not multi-dimensional or particularly bold. The taste is slightly nutty but lacks sweetness that my worn tastebuds are able to detect. All-in-all, this is a kind and gentle breakfast tea that will softly stir you from your slumber.

Well, this feels like sacrilege. A tea grown in the U.S. of A.? And from the south? Well I suppose the climate is good enough for rice. Well how does it taste? I would say it’s a bit mild, hints of nuttiness like almond. It doesn’t have much of its own sweetness. It’s okay. Nothing special, but worth giving a few more tries (since it was a gift) I’d be interested in buying whole leaf and trying it loose someday.

It’s certainly better than any number of bagged teas though.

I put milk and sugar in it.

My roommate didn’t like this tea too well, so I got to have the last bag for my morning cup. Big tumbler, hot water spicket, brewed strong, with milk. A good way to start the morning.

This was one of the teas that my friend gave me. I actually made it for breakfast this time. I tried a few sips of it plain and it was nice. It was a stronger flavor but the flavor did not punch you in the face. It was more of a “hey, it’s time to wake up now” buzz.

I put a little bit of milk in it, just enough to turn the tea from a nice rich brown to a nice toffee color. The milk let the flavors mix better and made for a smoother cup.

Overall, I really like this tea and I wish I had more of it to drink.