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Hawaii may sound like an unusual location for tea plantations, especially when compared to China or India. Of course, in Hawaii tea is grown and processed at a small scale, but this does not mean that the quality of the tea is inferior. The climate and the soil of this state actually contribute to tea leaves of an impressive quality. The tea plant (Camelia sinensis) has been reintroduced in 2001 in Hawaii, so it may be considered still in an experimental state. However, there are certain aspects that make Hawaiian tea stand out. For example, the altitude at which the tea plants are grown - approximately 4,000 feet - offers plantation owners the possibility to grow organic tea. It must be noted that tea in Hawaii can be grown at altitudes of up to 6,000 feet. At such altitudes pests that could affect the tea plant are not such a great concern, so pesticides are really rendered useless in this state. Due to the past volcanic activity, Hawaii features an acidic soil which allows the tea plant to grow in a beautiful manner. This particular type of soil also assures a part of the necessary nutrients. Organic compost is used for supplying the tea plants with the nutrients that cannot be obtained from the soil Planting, processing and cultivating of the tea plant are all done by hand. This offers the Hawaiian tea a great advantage, as tea that is processed by machines is known to have a lower quality. More than that, the techniques are improved each year and this is noticed both in the increasing quality and quantity of the Hawaii grown tea. The main goal of the tea plantation owners from this area is to turn Hawaii into the tea producing state in the USA. Since they approach tea growing and processing in a unique manner, they really have the chance of achieving their goal. Of course, tea farmers from India, China and Japan were consulted by Hawaiian tea growers in the beginning. There is no doubt that at some point Hawaiian tea farmers will be able to provide advice to others who are interested in tea. Hawaii grown tea is currently seen at tea expos and other such events that are meant to make this particular variety more popular. Even though Hawaiian tea is made from the same tea plant as many other varieties, the taste, color and fragrance are different, because of the different environment. Source: Hawaii Tea at Chi of Tea Loose Leaf Tea Information
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