Tag: tea

To do in Charleston… CHARLESTON TEA PLANTATION!

On By Barbara StroudIn HOMELeave a comment

OK, I’ve lived in Charleston for over 23 years now and I just made it to the Charleston Tea Plantation a few months ago! It was a wonderful place to visit! We visited during our staycation this summer. The grounds are stunning. You can watch things happening… all in our little Charleston! Literally a few minutes away, Charleston Tea Plantation is located right off Maybank Hwy on Wadmalaw Island. Visiting a tea plantation doesn’t seem like such a big deal until you realize that Charleston Tea Plantation/American Classic is the only place in North America that produces black tea commercially. It’s fascinating AND bonus… you can sample all the teas… and they have a wonderful gift shop!

This was one of my treasures from the gift shop… that and the peach flavored tea, a favorite in the summer for iced tea. You can buy this tea at some grocery stores under the AMERICAN CLASSIC name!

Look at these gorgeous old oak trees, they are all over the places. I wonder to myself… where are all the artists?? What a great place to paint! This is one place to bring a camera, that’s for sure! Lighting isn’t great, it was mid day and very hot, but you get the idea… those trees are gigantic!

Tea plants everywhere… more on the process in a future post, it’s so interesting!

From The Charleston Tea Plantation’s website:

ABOUT US

The Charleston Tea Plantation is located on historic Wadmalaw Island in the heart of the Lowcountry of South Carolina. The history of the Island dates back to mid-June of 1666 when it is believed that Captain Robert Sanford and the crew of the Berkeley Bay landed on the shores of what is now known as Rockville, South Carolina. On June 23, 1666, he and his crew claimed the land for England and the Lords Proprietors. Today, Wadmalaw is considered to be one of Charleston’s most unspoiled islands. It is approximately 10 miles long and 6 miles wide. The Island’s only connection to the mainland is a bridge that crosses over Church Creek.

Home to The Charleston Tea Plantation, Wadmalaw provides the perfect environment for propagating tea. With its sandy soils, sub-tropical climate and average rainfall of 52 inches per year, Wadmalaw possess idyllic conditions for the Camellia Sinensis plant. This plant is currently used to produce both black and green teas and exists in over 320 varieties on the 127 acre grounds of the Charleston Tea Plantation.

The Plantation sits right off Maybank Highway. Driving down Maybank is like taking a step back in time. Wadmalaw has not and cannot be commercially developed, therefore much of the land remains untouched. The Island is also home to other unique and historic attractions such as Irvin-House Vineyards, the only domestic winery in Charleston, South Carolina as well as theAngel Oak, a Live Oak tree that is believed to be over 1,500 years old.

Open 7 days a week, with the exception of a few holidays, the Charleston Tea Plantation is the perfect place to take a day trip. Bring the family, pack a lunch and enjoy the beauty of the tea fields. The experience is not only educational but more importantly one-of-a-kind. You will learn first-hand how tea is made during an informative Factory Tour. You can also take an enjoyable Trolley Ride through the tea fields, shop our unique Plantation Gift Shop and help yourself to all of the iced American Classic Tea you can drink.

Please feel free to call us for more information or questions-843-559-0383.

Another bonus!  If you aren’t in the area, check out their online gift shop (photo above) – NEAT stuff I’m telling you!

Hey, I think it’s tea time! Catch you back here tomorrow!

How to make sweet tea (or plain iced tea)…

On By Barbara StroudIn FOOD, HEALTH, Recipe4 Comments

I realize that knowing how to make tea isn’t difficult. I used to live in Michigan. Iced tea was different there. I live in the South now… have lived here since 1989. When I came to Charleston, one of the most fabulous treats was SWEET TEA! It seems like I could drink it sweeter in my younger days. Syrupy sweet tea is too sweet for my taste, and with all the talk about how you shouldn’t eat sugar, here’s a way to have your sweet tea and be able to drink it too! Making sweet tea isn’t rocket science, really… The way we made tea in Michigan was to put water and teabags in a jar and set it in the sun. And. Wait. And. Wait. And. Wait. Then we would pull out the teabags, pour it over ice, stir in some sugar that went straight to the bottom, and a squeeze of lemon. Ohhhh, how I loved iced tea in the summertime. Since there isn’t a lot of sun in the winter, we never had tea in the winter, something that we in the South have on a daily basis… Here it’s not milk with dinner, it’s tea (for the record, I still drink milk with dinner, but I drink tea during the day). Tea has lots of good stuff going for it. Obviously the more sugar you add the less “good for you” it is, but you will be amazed at how a small amount can be plenty! Trust me on this… If you’ve developed the taste for unsweet tea, follow the directions below and skip the “add sugar” part!

Brewed Sweet Tea – Makes 2 quarts

Ingredents:

Water

2 FAMILY SIZE teabags (good if you can get the ones for iced tea, doesn’t matter what brand…)

Sugar (I buy cane sugar, not granulated sugar, it’s more of a tan color, hasn’t been bleached), but whatever you’ve got will work

First, fill a saucepan with a few inches of water, cook on high until it starts a rolling boil… then…

Turn the burner off. Add two FAMILY SIZE tea bags and dip em around good… then set the timer for 5 minutes… gives em time to get a nice hot soak…

When the timer goes off after 5 minutes. Remove the teabags. Then add 3 tablespoons of sugar. That’s how much I use for 2 quarts. You can start with that and add/subtract until you get it how you like it…

Now give it a good stir, kinda like Jello, need to stir in the sugar… don’t want to crunch! Now let it cool a bit…

Now pour the concentrated mixture into a 2 quart pitcher…

Finally… add cold water to the container until it’s full… (I use cold filtered water from the fridge). Then pop it in the fridge and enjoy whenever you like!

Hope you enjoy! Catch you back here tomorrow!

Are you stressed? Try Aveda Comforting Tea!

On By Barbara StroudIn FOODLeave a comment
Image via http://www.aveda.com

Are you stressed? That’s the WordPress topic of the day… Have you gotten your credit card bill in the mail after the holidays (eek) or is work catching up with you after being out for a while? Well whether you’re stressed or not, here’s something to soothe and relax you… Aveda Comforting Tea. It tastes sweet, I remember the first time I was at an Aveda store and was offered a sample cup of tea, oh my gosh, it was delicious! Wow, I’ve GOT TO get some of that! So I asked her how much tea and how much sugar, because it was just right, not too sweet, not bitter at all, just, well… heavenly!? NO SUGAR! What?? It’s naturally sweet with licorice root and peppermint. Now, I’m not a licorice fan, and had I known there was licorice root in the tea I may not have tried it, but you don’t taste licorice, the organic blend is simply amazing! You can drink it hot or cold. I’ve only had it hot. The bottle is loose tea, it also comes in tea bags (for a pretty hefty price). If you’re near an Aveda store pop in, they always have hot samples of Comforting Tea ready to hand out. I think you may get hooked! Until tomorrow!