The winter of 2017–18 was a doozy. Pickens, where the temperatures sometimes dip below freezing on winter nights, endured 18 straight days of sub-freezing weather. When the sun peaked overhead at midday, the temperature failed to crack 32 degrees.
This didn’t bode well for the 6,000 Camellia sinensis, or tea plants, Table Rock Tea Co. had planted just a year prior. Out of that 6,000, only 14 survived. Owners Jennifer and Steve Lorch didn’t know it yet, but their farm at the foot of its namesake Table Rock Mountain was a place of miracles.
The plants had all but disintegrated. After almost throwing in the towel, the couple felt called to further explore tea by planting an herb garden—but come August, their 6,000 dead plants had been resurrected, lush with verdant leaves. “I don’t understand it, but that’s the definition of a miracle,” Jennifer Lorch says. “We call it Lazarus Field because God brought Lazarus back to life, and he brought our little tea plants back to life. It’s the only reason we’re a tea farm today.”
Lucky for us, the Lorches invite the public for tours seven times a week to admire the plants, now numbering 30,000, and to learn about the history of tea and how it’s made. Every Thursday through Saturday at 10a.m. and 2p.m., and every Sunday at 2p.m., a gathered group rides the Harlan, a small train made of old luggage carts, through the field, greenhouse, and farm store for a crash course in one of the world’s favorite beverages.
Tea Tours at Table Rock Tea
Ask the US League of Tea Growers and they’ll tell you there are around 60 tea farms in the contiguous United States. Steve Lorch puts that number at just half a dozen, at least for USDA- and FDA-certified farms with the ability to produce on a large scale. Table Rock Tea is one of the few, and one of just two in the Palmetto State.
Following the tour, a visit to the farm store yields free samples and products galore, including Walhalla Masala, a spiced chai; Cousin Earl, their new Earl Grey blend; and Marathon single-source Kenyan black tea, the offering that started it all. Kenya is a major part of TRT’s origin story: the owners were on a mission trip there when the locals taught them the tea craft. Doubling as a small history museum, the store delves into tea production and tea’s roots in Greenville. The taproot goes way, way beyond when TRT planted its first Camellia sinensis—the Lorches have six descendants from Greenville’s original tea plants, circa 1848, growing on the property.
“It’s probably the oldest genetic line of tea in the US,” Steve says. “It’s historically significant. We might be getting a historical plaque [to put next to them].”
Autumn is the perfect time to visit TRT. Not only will visitors be immersed in the technicolor show along the Cherokee Scenic Highway each fall, but you’ll be given the rare opportunity to see tea plants blooming, as they only do in October and November. Plus, for the first time in months, it might just be chilly enough to crave a warm cup of tea.
Make a day of it
Tours last an hour, and it’s easy to make a day of your visit along Highway 11; every gem listed below is no more than 20 minutes from Table Rock Tea.
- If you’re hungry, visit Aunt Sue’s Country Corner for some to-die-for brisket and fried green tomatoes, or stop at Pumpkintown Mountain Opry for a refreshing smoothie, hot coffee, or deli-style lunch.
- Immersing yourself in nature is easy in this neck of the woods: Table Rock State Park is across the street from the tea farm. If Table Rock is busy, trek to Beech Bottom Falls in the Jocassee Gorges Wilderness Area, Raven Rock at Keowee-Toxaway State Park, or Big Rock at Nine Times Preserve.
- Love the outdoors but hiking’s not your fancy? Try a round of golf at The Rock Golf Club & Resort or take a guided horseback tour at nearby Eden Farms.
- If you feel like shopping, Aunt Sue’s is adjacent to a handful of cute shops including The Lightning Bug for handmade light fixtures and Bear Necessities for tchotchkes and mugs.
- Victoria Valley Vineyards is open Thursday through Sunday, serving reds, whites, and a refreshing sangria. Farther down Highway 11, suds are on tap at Jocassee Valley Brewing.
- If you took a Friday tour and you’re still in the area come evening, Aunt Sue’s features live bluegrass from 6–8p.m., and the Oolenoy Community House has live bluegrass at 7p.m.
Table Rock Tea Co., 118 High Hills Ln., Pickens, tablerocktea.com
