Cut just the new growth from the top of the bush, wilt it, crush it, let it oxidize, then dry it.  I guess I never knew that black, oolong, and green tea all originate from the very same plant.  It’s just a matter of how long the crushed leaves are allowed to oxidize that makes the difference in flavor.  Pretty simple.  We walked through the tea processing plant at the only American tea plantation.  Interesting.  We had samples and wandered through the shop full of wonderful tea things….tea pots and cups, tea bag rests, every type infuser one could imagine and kitchen whatnots.

Then, a visit to the tea plantation’s partner, Firefly Distillery.  Their signature product, sweet tea vodka.  A pretty creative way to expand the market for a rather run of the mill product.  I had to give it a try.  My sampling flight included the sweet tea vodka, their lemonade vodka, sweet tea mint vodka, tea infused rum and a peach cobbler liqueur.  The lemonade and peach cobbler came home with me.

Tried something tasty and learned something new today.