Visit the Biggest Tea Garden in North America

Tea has been around for centuries and is the way many folks begin or end their day, and with good reason, it is delicious, relaxing, and good for you. Most tea is grown in far-off lands like India, Sri Lanka, and China, leaving most of us with little opportunity to visit an authentic tea garden...until now. If you are in the Charleston area and love tea, plan a visit to Charleston Tea Garden®.

Tea Bushes as Far as the Eye Can See

The Tea Experience

Dating back to 1963, the Charleston Tea Garden® is the only place in North America where you will see thousands of tea bushes stretching out over 127 acres. Their scent fills the air with a slightly floral earthy fragrance that is reminiscent of freshly cut grass. 

Take a Trolley Tour

Originally a potato farm, the Charleston Tea Garden® began in 1963 when tea aficionados transplanted Chinese Camellia sinensis tea bushes from Dr. Shephard's Pinehurst Tea Plantation that had been growing wild on his property since his death in 1915.  Camellia sinensis tea plants, which can produce both black and green tea, thrive here because it rains at least 48 inches a year.  

The gift shop is brimming with treasures

In 1987,  William Barclay Hall, a tea expert from London bought the property, and the Charleston Tea Garden® was founded. He blended one of the most beloved teas of the area, called "American Classic" which is the first tea ever to be made with 100% tea grown in America. In 2003, the Bigalow Tea Company, headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut purchased the gardens. Today, more than 300 varieties of tea plants are grown here, including South Carolina hybrids that take up to seven years to mature for cutting. 

Take A Factory Tour

Highlights of a Visit

Located on a sleepy island, visiting an authentic tea garden makes you feel that you are somewhere very far away.  In addition to seeing this glorious garden, a highlight is the chance to tour America's only tea factory, where you will see how tea is processed as you walk the entire length of the facility. For a close-up view of the entire plantation, hop on the trolley for a memorable narrated cruise through row upon row of tea bushes. The trolley stops at the greenhouse where visitors will have the rare opportunity to see new tea bushes propagated. 

Go Shopping for all-American Tea

No visit to the Charleston Tea Garden® is complete without popping into the gift shop that offers nine different types of tins of loose tea and tea bags, tea-infused beauty products, candles, mugs, and a unique assortment of teapots.

Tea is a great gift to share with friends back home

Five Fun Facts About Tea

Tea is the world's second most consumed beverage, with the Irish, the English, and the Turks being the largest group of teetotalers around the globe, while the Chinese are the largest consumers of tea.

80% of the tea consumed in the United States is iced with recipes dating back to the 1800s.

All tea, black, green, oolong, white, or yellow comes from the same plant. The real magic of making different teas is how they are processed, the length of time they are processed, and if flavors such as bergamot oil are added.

Tea is rich in antioxidants and drinking it has been linked to lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke, improving brain health, and reducing the chance of cancer.

According to legend, Chinese Emperor Shen Nung discovered tea in 2732 BC. The Portuguese and Dutch first imported tea into Europe in 1610, and Americans tasted their first iced tea at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.