*I would refute his claim of having Lipton stock which is the basis of American Classic Tea, as I know from first hand knowledge (unless he stole it through cuttings that were not authorized), he would not have this stock I tried as well from one of the partner’s in South Carolina and can tell you that those particular plants have not been nor will be for sale. So that claim is doubtful at the very least. I think he wanted to piggyback on the success of a great company with a superior quality tea. It is a work of mystery so I have sought out the advice of someone in the USA that has created and continues to create great tea in the USA. It does not come at a cheap price, but I agree with Nigel that we need to share our successes and our failures here in America to be able to make it. I have done just that. The mechanization required for this venture is a daunting task to say the least. The sheer cost of bare-boned 10 acres with harvester and processing plant with a tea bagging machine will cost a little under 2.5 million US Dollars and that is provided at a cost because I own a 30,000 sq foot building already that will house the processing plant and I own the land. As of late, I will fund this entire venture out-of-pocket (caveat– if government money comes available, I will take it, but I am not actively pursuing it… who wouldn’t? LOL) I will also say, the outpouring of support from our local community and state leaders has been amazing and we are making this a joint-effort as the State of Mississippi will benefit from this R&D project. Remember, The Charleston Tea Plantation and the Fairhope Tea Plantation are coastal, I am not. Tea has never been attempted in my growing zone or my elevation in the USA. I ask any local “hobby farmers” of tea in the US, please contact me at coaster_25 at hotmail dot com. I would love input, however, a commercial tea plantation is a totally different breed from a handcrafted or hand-picked hobby grower. In order to reduce costs, increase productivity and efficiency, and make a go of this, I need to know everything I can. I don’t want to sound snobbish by categorizing the hobby farmer from the commercial producer, but I do want to point out the difference for clarity of the blog readers. I feel that the Fairhope Tea Plantation was not quite a conflict of interest point, but more of a processing point and monetary point as to why they no longer exist. When I looked into this venture, I knew it would be costly, but my rough estimates only got me 1/4 of the way to the actual cost of this… I think I have a better view of the cost of the entire venture now and am proceeding, but I would have been out of money had I used my original budget projections and simply because I asked and researched and consulted with someone who had successfully done it here. Thank you for making that point Nigel and thank you for understanding that the mystery needs to be overcome for a success at this. My venture to date is still considered R&D, which is what the USA needs more of, but the downside is, It all comes at an ENORMOUS cost…. So, anyone who wants to share some insight here, feel free… or contact me directly… I came across this blog by researching everything I could on tea in the USA and I am glad I did…