Yan Chen, Kathryn Fontenot, Mary Sexton, Jason Stagg, Jeff Beasley and Jeff Kuehny

Tea plants, Camellia sinensis, are highly adaptable to Louisiana climate and soils. In the past, domestic tea production in the southeastern United States has been tried but never took hold except for what is now the Charleston Tea Plantation on Wadmalaw Island, South Carolina. But over the past decade, U.S. tea consumption has increased sixfold and reached $12 billion in 2016. During the same time, the number of domestic tea growers also increased. This renewed interest in tea can be attributed to several factors. Labor shortages in traditional tea-producing countries has led to price surges, and devastating diseases such as citrus greening and unpredictable weather patterns such as late-spring freezes along the Gulf Coast have redirected U.S. citrus and blueberry growers to seek alternative crops.

From the success of two Mississippi tea farms, the Great Mississippi Tea Company in Brookhaven and the J&D Blueberry Farm in Poplarville, we know that unique specialty crops such as tea have a niche market in the Southeast. However, a viable market must be in place prior to producing large acreage, and it is important to gain a good understanding of consumer purchasing habit and preferences before developing a local tea industry. Funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant through the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, LSU AgCenter researchers conducted a survey to measure market demand for tea in Louisiana.

In 2017, a questionnaire was distributed to 350 Master Gardeners at the statewide Master Gardener’s Appreciation Day at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station and at several other Master Gardener meetings. AgCenter specialists and agents also handed out the survey to individuals attending spring gardening symposiums or other educational events. By the end of the year, 2,000 surveys were completed.

Analysis of the results indicated that 92% of survey participants drink tea as part of their caffeinated beverage intake; 76% drink coffee; and 45% drink soda. Nationwide, demand for various types of tea is projected by the U.S. Tea Association to increase at 3% to 5% annually for the next five years, and AgCenter survey indicates the same trend: 19% of tea drinkers expect an increase in the amount of tea they drink, and only 7% expect a decrease in tea consumption. The top motivation for drinking tea was that it “tastes good,” followed by “health benefits” and “relaxation.” About 67% of the respondents indicated they drink iced tea, especially in summer, and about 28% drink hot tea in winter. Only 4% of the participants drink hot tea at any time of the year. Therefore, compared with hot tea, especially those prepared from loose-leaf, iced tea is still the most popular form of tea consumption.

The respondents prefer to purchase tea at retail stores and super markets (84%), followed by consumption at restaurants (48%). About 22% participants also ordered from specialty tea and coffee shops, and a small fraction (5.9%) order online (Figure 1).

When asked about the type of tea products they bought in the past six months, 82% of the respondents said bagged tea and 36% said ready-to-go bottled tea. Although only 19% of respondents purchased loose-leaf tea in the past six months, that is still encouraging for local tea growers because loose-leaf tea is the most profitable product (Figure 2).

For the preference on the origin of tea products, 70% of the survey participants indicated that any origin would be fine, while 27% participants would prefer domestic or locally grown tea when available. Participants were then asked to rank the factors that would affect their purchasing decision, and the top three factors by ranking are quality (how it smells and tastes), availability, cost, followed by locally grown and organically certified. Forty-seven percent of the respondents said they were more likely to purchase organically grown (most restricted use of chemicals) tea products, and 74% would be more likely to purchase tea products that are sustainably grown (less restricted use of chemicals).

Assuming similar quality, 54% of participants would pay the same price for domestically grown tea as they would for imported tea, and the rest would likely pay 10% to 20% more for domestically grown tea. These results indicate that consumers are increasingly interested in where tea is sourced, and there is a market demand for domestically grown tea, which is likely to increase when U.S.-grown tea becomes more available. As current and prospective tea growers are looking for business strategies, results generated from this project will help them better understand the market and where they would fit in.

Yan Chen is a professor at the Hammond Research Station. Kathryn Fontenot is an associate professor and Mary Sexton is a research associate in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences. Jason Stagg is a horticulture instructor at the Hammond Research Station. Jeff Beasley is an associate professor in the School of Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences. Jeff Kuehny holds the Ola Cook Holmes Professorship in Horticulture and is resident director at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden in Baton Rouge.

(This article appears in the summer 2019 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.)

Two ginger-flavored tea products, a loose-leaf green tea with ginger and a bagged black tea with ginger, both from J&D Blueberry Farm, were highly praised at a Master Gardener tea tasting workshop held in November 2018 at the Hammond Research Station. Photo by Yan Chen

Master Gardeners from Tangipahoa Parish distribute the tea consumer survey to visitors at the annual Camellia Garden Stroll at the Hammond Research Station in 2018. Photo by Yan Chen

Figure 1. Survey results for the question: Where do you usually buy tea or prepared tea beverages (select all that apply).

Figure 2. Survey results for the question: In what form do you usually buy tea (select all that apply).