There are few things I like more that a hot cup of tea. When I was a young, I picked up the daily tea habit from my stepmom. Later this simple ritual turned into a fascination with all aspects of this ancient tradition, including how the plant is grown, how it has been used throughout history and how it continues to be enjoyed by cultures all around the world.
When I finally caught the travel bug, I started to fantasize about my dream vacation: a tour of tea producing regions of the world. All types of tea — whether black, green, oolong or white, comes from just one plant — Camellia sinensis. This plant can only be grown in very specific climates, most of which are in Asia, though in recent decades growers have established gardens in Hawaii and East Africa (see this map). I would love to visit these places one day
— see the fields, learn how the teas are processed, and learn about the unique local tea customs and traditions.
With that said, here’s my “tea travel” bucket list, featuring some of the world’s top tea travel destinations and experiences:
Tea Travel Destinations:
Tea gardens with the Himalayas rising up in the distance – Darjeeling, India
Source: davaodude
Women harvesting tea – Assam, India
Source: nalinandworld
Tea fields climbing the rolling hills of Sri Lanka
Source: mollow
The biggest tea producing region in Japan, at the base of Mount Fuji – Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
Flickr: BlueRidgeWalker
In this remote area of Western China, the ancient tea trees have grown so high, workers have to climb into them to harvest the tea. In Yunnan, Western China
Source: giahs
The high-altitude mountain peaks in Taiwan are home to some of the most prized oolong teas in the world. Ali Shan mountains, Taiwan
Source: sharleenchao
The only place in the United States where tea has successfully been grown is on the the Big Island of Hawaii
Source: karendunlap
Rooibos (or redbush) is a popular herbal tea native to South Africa. Here are some workers raking and drying the rooibos leaves.
Source: dfid
Tea Travel Experiences:
Watching a Tea Ceremony in Japan
Source: kamomebird
Eating “tea leaf salad”, a popular dish in Myanmar.
Source: kozeyar
Drinking sweet mint tea in a smoky, Moroccan tea house.
Source: My photo from Granada, Spain
Learning about Yerba Mate in South America
Source: maltman23
Visiting the Celestial Seasonings (herbal tea) production facility in Boulder, CO
Source: evarees
Enjoy an English-Style afternoon tea — the more pastries the better!
Source: vergilyu
UPDATE 2/18/14: Some great recommendations from the Reddit tea board:
Here are two tea places that stand out in my travels:
- Prior to being into tea, I got to visit Fishawi’s tea house in Cairo. It was crowded as hell, we were seated with a bunch of a strangers that didn’t speak English and we drank tea and smoked hookah into the night. Amazing.
- I got to go to visit Uji, Japan which is the home of matcha and Gyokuro. If you are into JP tea, you definitely know the name Uji and if you have the means, you should visit at least once! It is a very touristy place but the city is so historic that I found it great to go and relax there. They serve green tea everything everywhere. Also the little street in front of the Byodo-in is lined with tea shops. Some have pretty good prices and very good tea.
- Sat and had tea with the guys/gals from Obubu in Kyoto. It was in a huge department store building, during rush hour. Loud and hectic as hell, the guy barely knew English and I know little to no Japanese. Somehow we had a 2 hour long tea tasting full of conversation.
I think there is a huge gaping hole in your list: The Wuyi Mt area in China. It is home to the top-tier cliff teas(DaHongPao, RouGui, XuiShian, BaJiGuan, BeiDou etc). It is on my places to go list. This guy recounts his story. It is a popular tourist destination for people within China. Also Phoenix Mt deserves at least an honorable mention given that it is home to the prized DanCong tea. HOJO has a nice little article on it. However I am partial to Chinese oolongs — User: mating_toe_nail
I grew up near Banff National Park, which I always strongly recommend people go see, regardless of their interests but….
At Lake Louise there are two tea houses at the top of the mountain — one at Lake Agnes and the other at Plain of Six Glaciers. Neither hike is easy, though Lake Agnes can be done in 2 hours. But when you get to the top, there’s a tea house. And honestly, nothing tastes better than a well-brewed cup of tea after a strenuous hike and enjoying the beautiful view.
Even after living in the area, I still try to do the hikes once a year. One of my all-time favorite experiences.
And of course, if you’re not up to the hike, The Banff Springs serves a great high tea, too. — User: splendidid
Stay tuned for our next post where I share some exciting news that may or may not involve tea…
So fun! I love tea and all the rituals that go with it. I first learned to love it when I lived in the Czech Republic. Tea cafes are very popular, and my friends used to invite me over for tea often. I also enjoyed high tea in England. I want to have high tea at the Rotunda in Union Square.
Nice memory, Jenna! It really is a drink that brings people together, maybe more so than coffee that is increasingly something you drink quickly or take on the go. Tea cafes are still places where people sit and talk. And that tea in SF sounds great — a splurge, but fun. Let me know the next time you’ll be in the city!
I enjoy a good cup of tea, though I’m certainly not on the same level as you! I really love the idea of a tea vacation though, and these photos just go to show that a tea-themed vacation means you’d be visiting some of the most beautiful spots these tea-producing nations have to offer. We’ll be heading to Sri Lanka in April/May and I’m hoping we’ll get to check out a tea plantation while there (we’ve yet to visit one!). If so, I’ll let you know how it goes!
Steph, I actually thought about going into the tea business several years ago — opening a shop or online import business, all that — so, few people do enjoy tea like me 🙂 The desire to see where the tea is grown and meet the producers has stuck with me.
I just read your post about Sri Lanka, I’m so excited for this next chapter of your adventure! I can’t wait to see your photos!
This is a great list! It’s be dream to travel the world, exploring tea growing regions. For now I’ll have settle for living vicariously through my boss who makes yearly buying trips to China 🙂
Getting to taste the fresh tea once your boss brings it back sounds pretty nice 🙂 I’m interested in your Twitter tea chat, I’ll mark my calendar and try to stop by!
I, too, love tea destinations. We just came back from Borneo and stayed at a tea plantation. I always seek out the tea…love this post!
Very interesting, Corinne! You know another blogger once told me about visiting a tea plantation in Indonesia or Malaysia, and I forgot that that’s another big tea region! Let me know if you write a post about the visit.
Good list of locations! One area that I would add to your list is Yunnan, in Southwestern China. It is a huge region. One could spend months traveling to various mountains in and around the Lincang/Lancang area, through Xishuangbanna, and further East to Yiwu. My favorite area is Guafengzhai, located further East on the border with Laos. Some of the tea trees are hundreds of years old and located deep within the mountain jungles, several hours away from the nearest village.
There is a picture of the area below:
http://www.twodogteablog.com/2013/09/29/and-never-say-always-2008-guafengzhai/
Twodog–Yunnan is definitely on my list, it’s so wild-looking and different than any other growing region I’ve ever seen. Also, I want to learn more about pu-ers. These are great tips, I’ll keep them for when I get out that way. I’ll also share them with another commenter who responded on Reddit, asking for more specifics about the region.
Thanks so much for coming by!
Love this post Cassie! We just got back from touring the tea plantations in Sri Lanka last December. Though I’ve grown up with the tea culture, I only started to like tea recently and love chai/milk tea more than plain tea. The scenery is amazing.
Wonderful! I’d love to see your photos! Did you share them anywhere? And I love a good spicy chai tea 🙂
I just recently started drinking more tea and I’ve clearly been missing out (use to drink mostly coffee). I’ve been buying loose teas and have really enjoyed Chamomile tea in the evening before bed. It comes from Bosnia and from the website where I bought it, it looks like quite a pleasant place where these teas grow.
Do you have plans to expand your tea vacation bucket list to new, lesser known tea regions? Apparently this tea has been grown there for centuries (?!?) I had no idea.
Ohh wow, herbal tea is a whole different ballgame! I had no idea where the various herbs come from, that is fascinating! I bet a chammomile field is beautiful when it’s in bloom! (Googling that now…)
And I’m definitely working to expand the list, we are planning a trip to India right now and it doesn’t look like we’ll get to Darjeeling or Assam up in the north as I had hoped, but I am going to try to visit the Munnar tea region in Southern India when we are down there! I really should update the post with those regions and the Bosnian chamomomile fields you mentioned 🙂