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m5allen_gw

Anyone growing tea (Camellia sinensis )?

m5allen
11 years ago

From what I have read, it seems that tea will grow here in FL. I love green tea and was thinking about growing it myself.

Does anyone grow it? Any tips?

I have called a few local nurseries and can't seem to find a place to buy it in the Tampa Bay area.

Comments (15)

  • carolb_w_fl_coastal_9b
    11 years ago

    Territorial Seed co. sells plants, but it looks like they're out of stock right now.....

    Here is a link that might be useful: Territorial Seed

  • DwayneSC
    11 years ago

    Camellia Forest Nursery sells several varieties of tea. They range in price from 12 to 25 dollars.

  • chrisgg
    10 years ago

    Interesting fact about green tea versus black. The green tea leaves are first steamed to destroy enzymes in the leaves, so that they stay green rather than ferment and turn brown or black. It's just like blanching green beans before freezing. I guess you can just add boiling water to the fresh leaves, but this is not the same as traditional green tea which is steamed and then dried under controlled conditions.

  • loufloralcityz9
    10 years ago

    I just bought 5 Camellia sinensis seeds on eBay for $3.00 plus $1.79 Shipping from a person in Jax. Thanks for making me aware that it grows well here in Florida.

    Lou

  • flatwoods_farm
    10 years ago

    I have plenty of one gallon tea plants in stock at a reasonable price. I am in Riverview,Fl

  • flatwoods_farm
    10 years ago

    I have plenty of one gallon tea plants at a reasonable price; I am in Riverview, Fl

  • zzackey
    10 years ago

    Why would they want to kill the enzymes?

  • chrisgg
    10 years ago

    The enzymes in the tea leaves promote oxidation of the leaves after they are picked from the tea plant. Just as dying tree leaves turn from green to gold, red and brown in the Fall, so wilting tea leaves start to go brown and black under warm humid conditions. This is a form of natural oxidative decay, a bit like apple flesh turning brown after it is cut. Therefore the enzymes have to be knocked out by steam in order to stop this "fermentation" and retain the green color of the leaves as they are dried. This is also done to things like green beans by blanching before freezing...otherwise the enzymes can cause the beans to turn black and leathery.
    This fermentation is allowed to occur naturally when black tea is made, because the leaves are not steamed and the enzymes are intact. The fermentation process increases the body, astringency and complexity of the flavor but also removes some of the anti-oxidant components of the tea.

  • beachlily z9a
    10 years ago

    In Fall 2011 my husband and I went to Charleston, SC. One of the things we did there was to go out to the Charleston Tea Plantation. It's the only tea plantation in the country. The tour was great! At the processing plant they went into great detail on how tea is dried and the processes it goes through to create the final product. Very interesting and a lot more complicated than I ever thought. Can you do this at home? Not really sure but you might google the process.

  • Cindy Chau
    8 years ago

    @flattwood: wondering if you still have tea plants for sale? Thanks

  • Carol love_the_yard (Zone 9A Jacksonville, FL)
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Hi Cindy,

    Here's a newspaper article about that included Flatwoods Fruit Farm contact information at the bottom:

    The fruits of his labor

    Carol in Jacksonville

  • Cindy Chau
    8 years ago

    Hello,

    Carol,

    Thank you for the info

  • Cindy Chau
    8 years ago

    Carol,

    According to the address... its kind of down the street from where i lived. I called and now just wait for his respond. Once again, thank you!

  • ariel73
    8 years ago

    Cindy, did you hear back from him? How much were they and what size?