Tea Blog

The consensus seems to be that tea is grown in about 40 countries around the world. Some of the powerhouse producers, such as China and India, account for much of the world’s total, while tea growing in some other nations — like the United States and England — is more of a novelty. Below is a rundown of the few of the world’s notable tea growing nations and regions.

As for the “almost” in the title, coming up with an entry for the letters L, O, P, and X was more than I could manage. If you can think of any, feel free to leave a note in the comments.

Assam
A state in India and the world’s largest single tea-growing region. Not to be confused with China, the world’s largest tea-growing nation, which is comprised of many growing regions.

Bangladesh
If you grew up in my generation you probably know of Bangladesh as the country Beatle George Harrison and others gave a much-publicized concert to benefit. Located in the same general vicinity of the Indian states of Assam and Darjeeling, Bangladesh is the world’s 11th largest tea producer.

China
The powerhouse of tea production, China is not only tops in quantity grown, but is also the first country to have a tea culture, as well as being the producer of a number of outstanding black, green, oolong, white, yellow and puerh varieties.

Darjeeling
A region in northeastern India that produces modest amounts of a premium black tea renowned for its distinctive aroma and flavor.

England
Never a significant producer of tea on their own shores in spite of being avid consumers. Tea is currently only grown in England at Tregothnan Estate in the western part of the country.

Fujian
A province in eastern China that’s probably best known for its output of Wuyi oolong, a tea grown in the vicinity of the northern Wuyi Mountains.

Georgia
Tea accounts for about of one-third of the agricultural output of this former Soviet republic, but they are not considered a major producer in the overall scheme of things.

Hawaii
Aside from South Carolina and Washington, the only state in the U.S. that currently produces a significant amount of tea.

India
The world’s second largest tea producer, after China. Comprised primarily of the Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri growing regions.

Japan
The world’s eighth largest tea-grower. Primarily known for its output of a wide range of green teas.

Kenya
An African country that’s ranked third in the world for tea production, Kenya is primarily known for its output of black tea.

Malawi
A small country in eastern Africa that grows the most tea on the continent, after Kenya. Ranked 12th worldwide in tea production.

Nilgiri
After Assam and Darjeeling, the other well-known tea-growing region in India. As with the other Indian regions, is best known for producing black tea.

Qimen
A region in China’s Anhui Province that’s best known for being the home of a type of black tea known as Keemun.

Ratnapura
One of six main tea-growing regions in Sri Lanka. Located just east of the capital city of Colombo.

Sri Lanka
Formerly known as Ceylon (tea grown there is still called Ceylon), this island nation off the shores of India has been turning out black tea for more than a century following a failure of the thriving coffee crop there in the late nineteenth century.

Taiwan
Best known for its high-quality oolong tea, the island of Taiwan was formerly known as Formosa, a name still given to some of the varieties of tea grown there.

Uji
A Japanese city renowned for its production of high-quality green tea, which has been grown in the area for nearly a thousand years.

Vietnam
The world’s sixth largest tea producer.

Wuyi
A mountain range in the northern region of China’s Fujian province. The point of origin for a number of popular tea varieties, most notable among them Wuyi oolong.

Yunnan
Located in southern China, Yunnan province is a producer of a number of varieties of tea, including several well-known black teas and the post-fermented type known as puerh.

Zambia & Zimbabwe
Neighboring countries in southern Africa that grow modest amounts of tea.

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