Canada's first tea farm looking forward to initial harvest
The first commercial tea plantation in Canada is getting ready for its first harvest and Canada's first locally-grown tea. Teafarm, located in Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, has about 200 tea bushes under cultivation on the 11-acre estate. The bushes were planted four years ago and will begin maturing early next year, with initial harvest planned for spring. At first, farmers were unsure how dry summers and snowy winters would impact the plants, but have since found that extreme weather conditions may positively impact flavor. They still have to decide which type of tea they will create from the plucking. Canadians drink about 9.7 billion cups a year, according to Statistics Canada.