Charleston Tea Garden — Attraction in Kiawah Island

If you love tea, or even just appreciate peaceful, beautiful places, Charleston Tea Garden is a hidden gem & certainly worth the short 25-minute drive from downtown Charleston. The moment you leave the city behind & wind your way through the Lowcountry’s back roads, under canopies of live oaks & Spanish moss, you begin to sense a slower-paced & tranquil way of life.

Set on Wadmalaw Island, the tea garden is the only large-scale working tea garden in North America, with a legacy that runs deep. The story behind its homegrown “American Classic Tea,” & its historic ties to Lipton & the Bigelow families, is rich with insight, history, & a reverence for craft.

From the moment you turn onto the plantation grounds, you’re greeted by row upon row of lush, vibrant tea bushes in majestic shades of green. After parking, we made our way to the gift shop, which serves as the heart of the experience. Inside, we were warmly welcomed by the gracious “Ms. Karen,” a true Southern hostess. She explained the trolley boarding process, pointed out the complementary tea sampling station, & made my daughter feel instantly welcomed. Overall, I noticed how staff throughout the property were genuinely kind, engaging, & wonderful with children.

We sampled a variety of both hot & iced teas, browsed a unique selection of Charleston-themed gifts, & were informed about their free self-guided factory tour that walks you through the steps of growing, harvesting, & preparing tea. 10 minutes before our trolley tour, we explored the gift shop until we were called outside.

The trolley tour, led by “Andie,” was the true highlight of the day! Andie’s energy, passion, & deep knowledge of tea, the plantation, & the owners made our tour memorable. She shared fascinating facts, cracked well-timed tea jokes, & brought the fields & factory to life through passionate storytelling. When I realized my daughter couldn’t see out the trolley window, Andie invited her to sit up front & made her the honorary “copilot.” It was such a thoughtful gesture, & it made the experience even more memorable.

Over the course of the 45-minute tour, we stopped twice. First, at the historic planting site of the original tea bushes, & then at the greenhouse, where guests could experience a brief walk-through & were treated to ice cold water.

Along the ride, Andie pointed out Lowcountry wildlife, a magnificent 200yo + live oak tree, & the subtle wonders of the tea-growing process. Her love for tea is infectious! I’m pretty sure this must be her unicorn 🦄 job. 10/10 stars ⭐️ for Andie!

After the trolley ride, we headed inside to cool off & proceeded to the free factory tour. It was interesting to see the machinery & learn more about how tea is processed, but I will say, it’s a self-guided walk-through with video screens. The factory was immaculately clean, but there were no workers or machines running. We weren’t sure if the machinery was just for show or if it’s truly used by the plantation. Last, an explanation on the final steps of processing- loose tea to bags, & boxing of the tea, was excluded. It left us curious for more, & a live guide would’ve made a big difference.

Growing up in Charleston, I had somehow never made it to Charleston Tea Garden before now. I’m so glad we finally did & I’m grateful to have shared it with my daughter. For tea lovers & anyone curious about the journey from leaf to cup, Charleston Tea Garden is a living tribute to the history, beauty, &...

I am a Charlestonian who has lived abroad the past three years and must say as a local, I truly enjoyed the Tea Garden experience! My grandmother and I decided to visit the farm together as one stop on our “Playing Tourist” adventure while I was in town for Christmas.

We enjoyed meandering around the gift shop and chatting with a few of the lovely employees. We felt the sweet Southern hospitality for sure as we chatted with a few workers before being invited to try samples from their tea selection (both hot and cold). I am not exaggerating when I say my grandmother and I both turned to each other after taking our first sips at the exact time before exclaiming, “This is the best tea I’ve ever had!” And we meant it! After that, we enjoyed learning about the actual processing of the tea plants on the walk-through indoor tour. Although I’ve seen some other reviewers complain, it is important to remember the Tea Garden is a WORKING farm so it is not reasonable to expect the tea to be processed year-round for your viewing pleasure. I found it very fascinating to see the process on screen and be able to still glance over at the machines used to process the plants during the growing season.

We preordered our tickets for the trolley ride and I did not at all feel the pricing was too much/not worth it as other reviews have stated. I loved the combination recorded information + our personable guide that very obviously had a love for the grounds and tea process. It was fun to learn about how the farm used to be a potato farm as well as the transfer of ownership and their experimental progress over the years they’ve been active.

Although I understand others being surprised at the name change from “Plantation” to “Farm”, it is important to remember that this site was NEVER a plantation that utilized slave labor- merely a smaller working farm. I think the name change is appropriate to keep people from expecting a plantation such as Magnolia or Middleton when the Tea Garden is of a much smaller scale and comes from a vastly different background.

If you enjoy learning about tea, if you enjoy seeing beautiful areas of Charleston, and if you have a few things planned in addition to the tea tour (we did the Tea Garden, Angel Oak, and stopped for lunch) I think it is a very beautiful and worthwhile experience to take! My grandmother and I will most definitely love to come and visit again in...

Most staff was NOT friendly. The tour was dry and left much to be desired. It is overpriced for what it actually is. The windows in the trolly were so dirty, the picture makes them look better then they were! This made it really hard to see. Those should be cleaned before any tour starts! The green house stop was quick and seemed pointless, nothing you can’t see at your local hardware’s store in the gardening section. $5-$8 would have been a better price for the content. Disappointment seemed to be the general consensus of everyone on the tour that day. Looking around there were not smiling faces of the visitors. It is sad because I feel they could really make it better by just adding more dialog/ interesting information/ being a little more hands on with the visitors. There is the potential for a great experience, they just are not there yet. There are some beautiful views of the property on the tour, the dirty windows made it hard to enjoy! I could have fallen asleep on the tour if it weren’t so bumpy.

Warning: It is VERY bumpy even with the driver going slow! The seats are wooden! If you have back problems, this could cause discomfort riding the trolly on the bumpy dirt road!

There is so much more to see and do in the Charleston area. In my opinion this is NOT worth the time or money. (We had 6 people in our group)

This tour is not geared toward people with children, more for the retired crowed. (There were several retired folks on our trolly and they did not seem impressed either)

The gift shop was really nice. The tea was free to try while you were there.

The majority of the staff were lacking in welcoming personalities. Maybe they were just having a bad day. The day we went they were...