There are a small handful of tea farms across the U.S., and only one full tea plantation, a hidden southern gem in Charleston, South Carolina. The rarity of these producers in the country is partly because the plant — Camellia sinensis — is a particularly climate-sensitive crop. It needs lots of rainfall, high humidity, and to be in hardiness zones 7 to 10. Much of the U.S. is too cold or dry, but parts of the Southeast are just right.
Fortunately for tea lovers, one of those special Southeastern tea farms (and the only one of its kind in Louisiana) is the Fleur de Lis Tea Company in Amite City. Cashing in on the area’s warm, humid climate, this farm has successfully cultivated Camellia sinensis since 2017, and visitors can partake in a tour of its fields and house, paired with a tea tasting, while enjoying the surrounding pine tree-dappled scenery.
The tea farm fell into owner David Barron’s lap, rather than by design. “I didn’t even know tea plants grew here,” he told Country Roads Magazine. The farm initially developed from an offering of about 1,000 plants from his friend, and Barron happened to have the space — a pine plantation — to grow them. The pine trees, by serendipity, are what make Fleur de Lis’s tea so special. They add a particular acidity level to the soil and give shade — two things that have nourished the plants. Things as subtle as the soil pH level can greatly affect the taste and aroma of the tea, and Barron’s farm seems to have found a favorable balance. A reviewer on Reddit described the black tea from Fleur de Lis as having “a woody taste, with a tanginess that sort of makes me think of stone fruit.”…