Mild weather leads to bumper crop in England's first tea estate
Tregothnan, England's first tea plantation, reported biggest yield ever due to unusually warm weather this past winter. December 2015 was the warmest on record and exceeded seasonal averages by several degrees. The tea bushes also benefited from a constantly humid climate and lack of frost, resulting in record crop. According to the estate, plucking could have started as early as January, as opposed to April. Tregothnan, located in Cornwall, was the first estate to grow ornamental tea plants outdoors 200 years ago and became the first commercial tea plantation in England in 2005. The estate owners claim the region benefits from a similar micro climate to the foothills of the Himalayas.