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The Miraculous South Carolina

South Carolina is one of the few places in the
United States where tea is actually grown commer-
cially. Junius Smith was the first to plant and grow
tea at Golden Grove Plantation in Greenville, South
Carolina. He did this from 1848 until his death in
1853. After him, Dr. Alexis Forster made another
attempt in Georgetown, South Carolina from 1874
until his death in 1879. A little more than ten years
later, in 1888, Dr. Charles Shepard established the
Pinehurst Tea Plantation in Summerville, South
Carolina. In doing so, he was met with some chal-
lenges. The first challenge was the hot and humid
climate, which wasn’t ideal for workers, thus caus-
ing a labor shortage. The second challenge was that
he needed to produce a high-quality tea in order to
cover the costs of production and make a profit.
Fortunately, Shepard was able to address and
overcome these challenges and successfully grow
tea in South Carolina. His oolong tea even won first
prize at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Dr. Shep-
ard’s plantation prospered until his death in 1915,
after which it lay dormant for decades until 1960,
when Thomas J. Lipton bought the property. The
remaining plants were preserved by Lipton and used
to establish a research center on Wadmalaw Island.
Mack Fleming, a tea horticulturist and future
owner of the plantation, was appointed by Lipton
as manager of the Charleston Tea Garden. Under
his leadership, the tea garden flourished. He invent-
ed a mechanical harvester-a hybrid cotton picker
and tobacco reaper-that could do the work of 500
workers. A fan of modern practices, he created a
harvester that could replace 500 people’s labor. In
1987, Fleming and William B. Hall—an expert tea
taster trained in London—purchased the farm from
Lipton to establish the Charleston Tea Plantation,
which now spans 127 acres.
In 2003, after parting ways with Fleming, Hall
sold the garden to the Bigelow Tea Company, which
brought over 65 years of experience in the special-
ty tea business to the Garden. Thanks to this part-
nership between Hall and the Bigelows, the Charles-
ton Tea Garden has been able to continue producing
high-quality teas and expanding its offerings. Today,
The Charleston Tea Garden has the Charleston Tea Garden is a beloved American
icon, thanks in part to the creativity of its founder,
been producing delicious specialty Bill Hall. The garden has been producing delicious
specialty teas for over 25 years, and continues to
teas for over 25 years. delight tea lovers with its unique blends and the
popular American Classic Tea line.

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