Hell-o to all my tea fans. My web page said over 400 people read my web site yesterday, but I just do not believe it. I get a bit of email chatter and those writing seem to know about me and my operations but, really, 400 in a day?
We have just finished two pickings of green and two pickings of black tea. Our taste test (remember my wife’s and my taste buds have suffered in creditability) indicated they are both strong and quite flavorful. That makes 176 pounds for this year of really good tea. That is almost 100 pounds short of last year but we had to sell off last years surplus online and I do not want to do that again. So it is a guess as to how much we might need. The first several months of this were a booming market. We were doing tours every day and could not make enough loose leaf bags to keep them in stock. Our individual cup size tea bagger was going wide open. Then Delta got so popular and the tours suddenly stopped. Will it pick up again? Will we have a big pre-Christmas rush? Its all a guess.
At least I am saying we are not going to make any more tea. I really like picking it and fine it relaxing to be by myself out in the fields and plucking gives me a soothing feeling that I am in a good place. Our potential is so great that my bushes are now covered in tea, (the attached photo does not show that) with lots getting too old to pick. Most tea growers now pick the fool out of their plants but mine grow like kudzu and every year we prune off tons of growth that just did not get picked. Most tea growers are trying to make money but I keep mine in the fun category.
Come on down and see us sometime.
Donnie Barrett