The Charleston Tea Plantation, located on Wadmalaw Island in the lowcountry of South Carolina, is the only working tea plantation in the United States. Growing over 320 varieties of the Camellia Sinensis plant (originally brought over from China in the 1700′s), the tea garden produces both black and green teas.

Despite their deliciously libacious start in China, the plants didn’t successfully produce tea here until 1888, when Dr. Charles Shepard founded the Pinehurst Tea Plantation in Summerville, South Carolina. But when Shepard died in 1915, his formerly award-winning tea bushes grew wild. It wasn’t until 1968 that the bushes were transplanted and took hold on a former potato farm on Wadmalaw Island, transforming the land into a place for experimental tea research. In 1987, a third-generation tea taster named William Barclay Hall purchased the land and converted it from a research and development property into a commercial business. The Charleston Tea Plantation was born. Continue Reading »

Just like King Midas, everything the Trump Organization touches turns to gold, and this venture is sure to be no different. The company just announced its partnership with Talbott Teas, purveyor of upscale, gourmet teas. Together they will launch Trump Tea, a collection of four whole leaf gourmet tea blends created by Talbott Teas’ master blender Shane Talbott.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Talbott Teas on this collection of tea which offers the opportunity to indulge in an affordable way. Our mission was to create unique blends that would make the tea-drinking experience both relaxing and luxurious.” – Cathy Hoffman Glosser, Executive Vice President of Global Licensing for The Trump Organization. Continue Reading »

In college, I had a friend that mixed a “diet cocktail” of vodka and fresh brewed green tea (sugarless tea, mind you). Needless to say, I found the combination to be rather unpalatable (okay, it was absolutely terrible). Don’t get me wrong, though. I love green tea. I like vodka. And I have been known to balance my boozing regimen with a regular detoxifying tea routine. But as a cocktail? Eh…

Thanks to Phillips Distilling Company, I can now get intoxicated and detoxify at the same time! Okay, technically that is not a legitimate statement. However, the new UV Sweet Green Tea Vodka is infused with real green tea leaves — which means it has to have some sort of antioxidant property. Right? Please don’t burst my bubble… Continue Reading »

For the past decade KulovPresents have lent their marketing, branding and public relations skills to producing events for many arts and other not-for-profit organizations both in the U.S. and in Europe.

The Tea Festival is the brainchild of KulovPresent’s Founder & Creative Director, Kulov. He started the tea festival ten years ago by throwing small tea parties for his nieces around Valentine’s Day. Those tea parties eventually grew and Kulov used his experience in organizing fundraisers for various cultural organizations to open the event as a public festival. Continue Reading »

Folks get pretty geeked up about green on St. Patrick’s Day. People everywhere knock back copious amounts of green beer, and it’s even a tradition in Chicago to dye the Chicago River green. To be honest, I’d rather drink Chicago River water than most of the beer that gets turned green. If you’re going to wake up with a hangover on Thursday, why not get what you paid for? Why not get stuck into things that are green all year round. Here is a list of true green liqueurs and recipes for each. Continue Reading »

Never to be outdone by a certain fast food franchise, Starbucks will be testing a new size for Iced Tea and Iced Coffee, the “Trenta”. This 31-ounce tankard of deliciousness, according to a Reuters story, will be field tested in the Phoenix and Tampa Bay metro areas and will cost $3.30 and $2.60 for iced coffee and iced tea respectively.

Kudos to Starbucks for realizing that they operate in America, and here we like our beverages in child swimming pool sized portions. I’m hoping they decide to one up McDonald’s in the near future and introduce a new product, the Starbucks IV Drippi.

I wouldn’t last a day without a coffee, and I imagine quite a few of you would agree (maybe not publicly) with my sentiment. It was, then, with great joy that I read in a Ma’an News Agency article that the Israeli Army would begin allowing coffee and tea to be imported into the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian territory that has been blockaded by Israel since June 2007. Continue Reading »

Iced tea is huge here in the South. It’s everywhere, but you are rather limited in your tea options. Most places offer sweet tea, and maybe unsweetened tea if it’s a fancy joint. I’ve even found sweet tea served out of a 55 gallon trash can. Gary Valentine (the guy who looks like Kevin James but isn’t) does a hilarious bit (1:33 in) about it. Sweet tea is definitely king, but Coke wants to replace the monarch with democracy.

Bloomberg News says in a press release that Coca Cola is field testing a machine, Flex Fresh, that makes iced tea on demand. It can make more than several different combinations of iced tea with the press of a few buttons. You can choose green or black tea, sweetened or unsweetened, and peach, raspberry, or lemon flavor. Continue Reading »