Charleston Tea Garden
6617 Maybank Highway • Wadmalaw Island, SC 29487
843-559-0383 • charlestonteagarden.com
The Charleston Tea Garden is famous in the United States and among tea enthusiasts for being one of a short list of places in America where tea is grown. While a few other companies across the country have joined the pursuit, this garden remains most likely the largest in North America and certainly the most historic. It is the only farm in the U.S. where hundreds of thousands of tea bushes, stretching out over more than 100 acres, grow as far as the eye can see.
In 1888, Dr. Charles Shepard founded the Pinehurst Tea Plantation in Summerville, South Carolina, to make tea-growing in America a feasible reality. He created award-winning teas up until his death in 1915. Following his passing, the plantation closed, and the tea plants grew wild and unkept for approximately 45 years. In 1963, the once-prized tea plants were transplanted from Pinehurst to a 127-acre potato farm located on Wadmalaw Island. “Charleston Tea Garden was founded in the mid 1960s as a research company for another tea company,” Bryn Riley, general manager of the garden, explains. “In 1987, Bill Hall purchased the garden as a commercial farm. In 2003, he saw things differently, and that’s when Mr. and Mrs. Bigelow purchased it.” For the last two decades, under the careful advisement of the Bigelows of the renowned Bigelow Tea, the business has tripled in almost every area.
With such a large quantity of land and countless flora to tend to—approximately 40 acres of tea plants—maintaining the utmost care for the property is no small feat. When asked about the conditions of growing tea in the greater Charleston area, Bryn states, “Tea doesn’t like the wet or cold. It needs a warm humid environment and decent rainfall. We get an average of 50 inches of rain a year, and it’s brutally hot in May through September. We have the right soil here for it to not be standing in water. It’s good for drainage.” Bryn has become well acquainted with all things tea in his tenure at the estate. “In 2007, I needed an in-between-college-semesters job,” Bryn says. “I pulled weeds for the whole summer, and I’ve been working here since 2009.”
The well-known verdant grounds of the garden produce popular black and green teas that are sold in the gift shop, online, and at mom-and-pop shops throughout the Southeast and beyond. The teas are all available in loose leaf as well as pyramid tea bags. Teatime staples such as Earl Grey and a divine breakfast tea aptly named “Charleston Breakfast” are known to please. “American Classic Tea,” a delicious black tea, and best-selling “Peachy Peach Tea,” a flavorful and fruity blend, are especially delightful in summer months.
When visiting Charleston Tea Garden, guests have two tour options: a free factory tour that explains the basic process of how tea is made and a 40-minute trolley tour that focuses on the history of the farm and horticulture practices. When purchased in advance, trolley tour tickets cost $16 for adults and $8.50 for ages 4 to 11, with children under 3 admitted free. Purchasing tickets day-of will cost $18 for people ages 12 and up and $9.50 for children 4 to 11. “We’re something that no other major city has,” Bryn states. “It’s not a corn or strawberry farm. It’s not very common in the U.S.” The experience of visiting the garden is truly unlike anything else you’ll do in the Charleston area. “You’ll appreciate tea much more than you did before you came here,” Bryn reveals. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the Bigelow family. Mr. Bigelow was such a legend. . . . the passion he and Mr. Hall had for this place. Mr. Bigelow would spend hours every day talking about how to make it more open to the public.”
If you are searching for a unique opportunity to take in the natural beauty of South Carolina and learn more about how tea is grown here, then there is no better place to visit than the illustrious Charleston Tea Garden.
The Charleston Tea Garden is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Sundays from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Really enjoyed learning about the Charleston Tea Garden’s unique place in American tea history. The blend of tradition, innovation, and Southern charm makes it a must-visit!