My Country, 'Tis of Tea — North Carolina

North Carolina is a state I have grown to love for a number of reasons. My tea friend Ginger lives there, my favorite statewide magazine is based there (Our State North Carolina), and not insignificantly, the awesome publishing company I edit for, Red Adept, is based there. And happily, I know that some pretty unique tea news comes out of North Carolina!

• This vintage postcard depicts a teapot that marks the site of the famous Edenton Tea Party in Edenton, N.C. Some courageous women led by a Penelope Barker vowed they would no longer “conform to ye pernicious Custom of Drinking Tea.” Some 51 women met on October 25, 1774 to protest the Tea Act passed by the British Parliament in 1773. They signed a petition vowing that they would give up their tea and boycott other British products "until such time that all acts which tend to enslave our Native country shall be repealed."

• Camellia Forest Nursery in Chapel Hill, N.C. is a well-known nursery that grows and sells tea plants. A friend and former blogger in North Carolina actually gave me my own thriving camellia sinensis plant, and if I ever need another, one of the first places I will turn will be Camellia Forest Nursery. You can go here to learn more about the varieties of tea plant they sell.

 

• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro has spearheaded a tea mapping project showing the locations of tea plantations in the U.S. The U.S. League of Tea Growers wrote about the project here. With tea being grown all over the U.S. these days, I think it's a great idea to map all of the tea-growing areas of the country, and I look forward to hearing more about this project in the years to come!
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