Do you grow your own tea?

[alcon835]

My wife and I recently purchased a house and we've been discussing growing tea! We each drink a lot of tea and growing (and possibly roasting) tea leaves for our tea seems like it could be a fun thing to do.

So, does anyone here grow their own tea? What teas do you grow?

Basically, is anyone doing this and what have you learned from the whole thing?

[Ecky]

I had never considered it, as I was under the impression I could not get a Camellia sinensis shrub to grow in my climate. A quick search suggests they are not cold tolerant and prefer a lot of rainfall, and I'd expect would require frequent watering in large portions of the US. I'm pretty ignorant on the topic and have had my interest piqued.

OP, where do you live?

[Trifle]

Posting to follow.  We drink a LOT of tea (both real tea and herbal 'tea'), and this year I'm planting a wide variety of herbs:  chamomile, lemon grass, lemon balm, hyacinth, mint, etc.

We have very well established ornamental camellia sinensis shrubs here (zone 7a).  They do very well, so I am going to research whether we could also grow a good drinking variety.   

[lthenderson]

Lots of old farmsteads have a variant of Camellia Sinensis meant for colder zones growing around where the old houses used to stand. They get about four feet tall and produce a lot of leaves during the summer that are used to make tea. I live in Zone 5. A quick google search finds a modern variant here:

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/cold-hardy-tea-plant-organic

[alcon835]

I had never considered it, as I was under the impression I could not get a Camellia sinensis shrub to grow in my climate. A quick search suggests they are not cold tolerant and prefer a lot of rainfall, and I'd expect would require frequent watering in large portions of the US. I'm pretty ignorant on the topic and have had my interest piqued.

OP, where do you live?

We live in Texas, so it has a bit of a volatile climate from year-to-year. My wife has some flower ideas that could make good teas and I've also been doing research on indoor gardening options since the outside is so crazy here.

[alcon835]

Posting to follow.  We drink a LOT of tea (both real tea and herbal 'tea'), and this year I'm planting a wide variety of herbs:  chamomile, lemon grass, lemon balm, hyacinth, mint, etc.

We have very well established ornamental camellia sinensis shrubs here (zone 7a).  They do very well, so I am going to research whether we could also grow a good drinking variety.

That's so cool! I'd love to grow and drink my own tea. Let me know what you learn.

[Trifle]

Lots of old farmsteads have a variant of Camellia Sinensis meant for colder zones growing around where the old houses used to stand. They get about four feet tall and produce a lot of leaves during the summer that are used to make tea. I live in Zone 5. A quick google search finds a modern variant here:

https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/products/cold-hardy-tea-plant-organic

Neat!  Thank you @lthenderson !

[Indio]

I grow my own herbal tea using chamomile, lemon balm, tulsi basil, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, and peppermint. Harvest stems several times throughout growing season and dry in basement on shelves. When leaves/flowers are completely dry each variety gets its own labeled canning jar. If someone wants tea, they can take dried herbs in whatever combination or strength they want to add to the tea strainer. Have considered growing ginger to add zing to the tea.

[Cgbg]

I have three tea plants. From them, I can make green, black or oolong. But... only one is really mature enough to pull leaves from while the other two were just planted last year. I live in Portland Oregon so they grow quite well here.

[Tass]

It had never occurred to me this was possible, but I drink tea every day. PTF!

[diapasoun]

Also PTF as a major tea drinker.

For those who grow their own camellia sinensis, how do you enjoy the flavor? Any comparisons to other teas?

[GuitarStv]

Posting to follow.  We drink a LOT of tea (both real tea and herbal 'tea'), and this year I'm planting a wide variety of herbs:  chamomile, lemon grass, lemon balm, hyacinth, mint, etc.

We have very well established ornamental camellia sinensis shrubs here (zone 7a).  They do very well, so I am going to research whether we could also grow a good drinking variety.

Just an FYI, grow mint in a pot.  The damned stuff is an invasive weed and can be really hard to fight off when a patch of it gets established.  Lemon Balm is similar.

[JLR]

I grow lemon verbena for my husband's tea. I've been thinking of growing ginger, too, but it might be too cold here for that.

[chouchouu]

I grow lemon verbena for my husband's tea. I've been thinking of growing ginger, too, but it might be too cold here for that.

I also grow lemon verbena, I think it grows in a wide range of climates as we had it in London too. My seven year old often makes herself a cup of verbena tea, it's her favourite!

[Trifle]

So I just ordered two tea plants (camelia sinensis).  It's getting a little late for planting in my area (7a), but we'll give it a go.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Also a few weeks ago I discovered two large lemon balm plants near my house.  I've been here three years and just noticed them, shame on me.  I've heard lemon balm can be used for herbal tea, so I'm going to try that.  Also curious what other herbal treasures might be planted here or there by the prior owner. 

[Tass]

Does anyone know if they grow well enough in pots? I'm not sure if we get enough sun on our balcony either way...

[alcon835]

Does anyone know if they grow well enough in pots? I'm not sure if we get enough sun on our balcony either way...

@Tass I think it depends on what you grow and all that. I can't see any reason why most tea plants wouldn't grow well in pots assuming it gets the correct amount of water and sunlight and other nutrients.

[Trifle]

My two tea plants just arrived!  I got them from Burpee.  They're little things -- about 8" tall -- and look good.  Lots of branches and leaves.  Nice dark green color.  I'll be planting them tomorrow and will post updates on how they're doing. 

[cerat0n1a]

Does anyone know if they grow well enough in pots? I'm not sure if we get enough sun on our balcony either way...

I've seen it in pots in the UK plenty of times, although that does mean it then needs some frost protection in winter. I think tea actually prefers a bit of shade vs full sunshine too. It can grow to be a fairly large shrub though - on tea plantations they prune it hard to keep it below 2 metres (6 feet) or so.

[alcon835]

My two tea plants just arrived!  I got them from Burpee.  They're little things -- about 8" tall -- and look good.  Lots of branches and leaves.  Nice dark green color.  I'll be planting them tomorrow and will post updates on how they're doing.

Please do! I'm excited to actually see someone do this.

My wife is about to quit her job and semi-retire for a bit. I'm thinking gardening tea plants might be a great next step for us now that I've seen so many folks do it. Where did you get your seeds/plants from?

[Trifle]

Where did you get your seeds/plants from?

I ordered plants from Burpee.  https://www.burpee.com/fruit/specialty-fruits/tea-camellia-sinensis-prod002292.html

These are rated for Zones 8-10, and I'm in 7a.  I'm successfully growing some other warm-weather plants out of zone, though, so I'm pretty confident it can work.  Combination of micro-climates (little areas of extra warmth) and winter protection.  That's the plan anyway!  I'm going to treat them to some compost specially made for acid-loving plants when I put them in the ground tonight.