Next weekend (April 18-19), the Tregothnan estate, Cornwall, Will bring together two great British passions:
gardening and tea drinking. This compassionate crowd has mobil-ised almost 21 million for good causes since the first English tea bush was planted at the dawn of this century and, now, visitors can encounter tea as a living plant. The chance to pluck your own fresh white tea shows how little stands between garden and cup. As you walk around the garden, the fresh tea leaves are gently bruised and oxidised in your pocket and, the next morning, you will detect the aroma of fine single-estate tea-white, green, or more likely an oolong. It is tea at its most immediate; tea plants with enough tender tips make a cup of tea straightaway. Maddie Moate's new YouTube film How is Tea made? (from leaf to cup!) explains how to make 'pocket tea' and how to harvest at home.
How to serve
Steep fresh white tea leaves in hot water (about 75°-80°C) for three to four minutes.
Where to buy
Jonathon Jones tastes tea and exports English-grown tea worldwide