If you prefer tea leaves to coffee beans, you don’t have to travel to China or India to experience the stuff firsthand. These days, there are tea tours and tastings across the US.

You’ve heard of Celestial Seasonings, right?

Well, this company is based in Boulder, Colorado, and offers free tours every day around its tea production plant, and of course there are free samples involved.

The Bigelow tea company has the only black tea plantation in America: The Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island.

The plantation spans more than 127 acres of tea plants, where visitors take a trolley ride to learn more about day-to-day operations.

Harney & Sons is a respected tea retailer based in the U.S.

They don’t grow their own tea, but you can visit the tasting room in Millerton, New York, just north of Manhattan.

Here, you can learn from the tea experts while sampling goods from around the world. And these days, tea rooms are practically the new coffee shop.

Check out spots like Samovar Tea in San Francisco, or the T Salon in New York City, where travelers can take advantage of tea education classes and pairing lessons.

Bottom line: even experiences that you associate with long-distance travel can be found a little closer to home, if you know where to look.

For more, don’t miss Tea Plantation Tours: The New Wine Tours?

Or get more ideas in our Culinary Travel category.

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