Developing Tea as a New Louisiana Specialty Crop
By Jeff Beasley, Yan Chen, Jeff Kuehny, Kathryn Fontenot, Kayla Sanders, Jason Stagg and Mary Sexton, LSU AgCenter
It’s that time of year again when we seek relief from the hot, humid weather by drinking a cold glass of tea. Although tea is a common beverage, second to only water in consumption for Americans, the majority of leaves used to brew this summertime concoction are still mainly imported from Asia. Countries such as China, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka have long histories on how best to produce and process tea.