Most of the time when you sit down with a cup of tea it’s likely from one of the tea giants, China, India, Japan, or even Africa with their strong, robust black teas. So you may be surprised to learn that tea is being produced right here in the U.S.. There are two commercial tea producers-one in the East, the R.C. Bigelow Co., in South Carolina, and in the West, Sakuma Brothers Premium Teas, in Skagit Valley, Washington. There are also several smallholder farms in Hawaii, producing smaller amounts of specialty teas. |
Richard and Steve Sakuma have been growing tea for over ten years at their berry farm in Skagit Valley, Washington. A former director of diversified agriculture for the Lipton Tea Com- pany, John Vandeland, encouraged the broth- ers to add tea to their thriving berry farm. Vandeland chose young tea plants he believed would work for their unique terroir, with winter lows dropping to 1 to 4 C, and slightly acidic, sandy clay loam type of soil.The Sakumas planted five acres with a select- ion of different varietals, with a third of the plants unable to withstand the extremely cold temperatures. In 2007 they harvested their first tea crop from the plants that survived. |
In the beginning the brothers experimented with various machines to harvest and produce their meager tea, from a gas fueled hedge-trimmer for harvesting, to a meat grinder for rolling the leaf, and using a regular wok for firing and drying. Unfortunately they were so busy with their fruit production and harvesting, they had little time left to concentrate on producing tea.They were aware, though, of the growing interest in tea and its many health benefits, Taiwan, It was a serious blow and disheartening to Richard to go from the original 20,000 tea The tea harvesting season in Washington state begins in June China as a mao feng pluck, it consists The Sakumas have been producing tea for about three years green tea, an oolong, and a white tea Their teas are available online, with 28g bags of Sakuma Market Stand Green or Oolong All of their teas have five star testimonials, with their white tea described as bold, fruity, |
and creamy, their green tea described as complex and rich, a little spicy with perhaps a hint of cinnamon, with no astringency or grassy taste. And the testimonials for their oolong tea is that it’s grown in our own backyard and the finest quality, on par with Taiwan’s best oolong teas.So, I guess that about says it all. These are teas you’ll definitely want to try very soon. Enjoy. |