Tea Producing Countries Link

I had no idea they grew tea in Portugal.

I didn't even think Porgees drank Tea.

Think the Portuguese would have known and probably traded in tea for centuries from China(Macau) and India(Goa) to Europe.

Agreed, trib' - Google Jasper de Cruz.

Or read the notes from Typhoo

But this Jesuit priest was not the first to import tea into Europe - the Dutch were.

P.S. Whilst I accept that Typhoo (You only get an ooh! with Typhoo as the advert went) still sells tea I am not endorsing it; indeed, it is, like most tea sold in Britain today, hideous.

I believe there is only one tea plantation in the US, south of Charleston, SC. I wanted to do the tour but the timing didn't work out. The tea isn't bad but that's about the most I can say.

Tea is also grown in Washington state. There's the Fairhope Plantation in Alabama that sells through local shops. There are also a number of small plantations in Hawaii.

The owner of a San Francisco tea house is trying to establish a plantation in California. Right now he is experimenting with different varieties to see what will work in the climate.

When the tea leaves are ready for harvest, we hand pinch off each leaf at the stem. Only 2 leaves and bud at the end of each branch are used for Sakuma tea.

'My' organic, single estate, first flush, whole leaf Darjeeling costs GBP10 per 50g from a specialist small importer and supplier - this compares to the DQ supermarkets' premium Darjeeling @ GBP 2.50 (per 125g); GBP1.50 for 'regular' tea; and about half of this for sawdust masquerading as tea.

But the Sakuma Bros. seem to know what they're about, Nutrax. In view of the price of their Oolong, USD 19.95/ GBP 12.5 per 28g, they really ought to.

Anyway, I did try to order some of their Oolong but, alas, got this message: Our shipping charges are determined by the total weight of your product, excluding applicable sales tax. Our products cannot be shipped to international destinations so please submit a message to us from the Contact Us page if you would like to discuss international ordering options.

Perhaps I'm missing something, Nutrax - but if they cannot+ ship internationally why would they invite messages tae +discuss international ordering options ?

I can see Caliland tea being superb - in 100 years' time. (I'm thinking very long-range weather forecast...) Still, the wine is delicious today.

Vinny: if ye stop yer cod Scots nonsense I'll overlook yer prostitution in Saudiland. I might even let ye join my tea club. (Much better than Palin's Tea Party dot times three.)