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The tea plant is native to South and Southeast Asia, but it has been grown in so many other countries that today we can find plants from the equator all the way up to South Carolina, in the United States of America. The best tea, however, grows at really high elevations with quite a bit of rainfall. Picture a misty mountain setting in India or China and you’ll get the idea.

Here is a quick snapshot of the major tea producing areas where we get our tea:
USA <b>Ecuador</b> <br />Produces Guayusa, a unique, smooth-drinking herb with a great kick. Although it’s been consumed traditionally by local populations for centuries, it is a cool new addition to the DAVIDsTEA hot beverage world. <br />Try our Jungle Ju Ju. <b>Bolivia</b> <br /> Bolivia’s small tea estates produce mainly black teas. So far, we have only offered one tea from this tiny, South American nation, in our Spring 2011 collection. We hope there will be more to come! <b>Argentina (Brazil and Paraguay)</b> - Produces maté, which is not technically a tea, but a delicious hot beverage and pick-me-up. Maté is an amazing stimulant for the body and mind, and is the beverage of choice in much of South America. <br /><br />Try our Honey Bee or Chocolate Rocket. <b>South Africa</b> <br />The exclusive producer of Rooibos tea, which is made from a bush native to the area. <br /><br />Try our Chocolate Mint Rooibos, Crème Caramel Rooibos and Green Rooibos teas. <b>Kenya</b> <br /> Now vying with Sri Lanka as the country that exports the most black teas into the world market, Kenya is home to some beautiful boutique tea estates. <br /><br />Try our Kenyan Tinderet, a very special CTC (Crush, Tear, Curl) blend. <b>Sri Lanka</b> <br />The tea of present day Sri Lanka is often called by the old country name: Ceylon tea. At around 60% of its net export profits, tea is the most important export of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka produces mostly black (Ceylon) teas, but in recent years they have released some beautiful green and white teas as well. <br /><br />Try our Breakfast tea. <b>India</b> <br />India currently has approximately one million acres under tea cultivation, which supports around 14,000 tea estates, and a total work force of about one million people. In India, there are three distinctly different, geographically separated tea growing regions which produce entirely different teas both in style and in taste/character. <br /> <br />The three regions are Darjeeling (North-Eastern India), Assam (far North-East India) and Nilgiri (South India). <b>China</b> <br /> In the tea world, China is the equivalent of a wise great-grandma. Tea has been cultivated and consumed in China for over 5000 years. The Chinese produce white, green, oolong, black and pu-erh teas. And they're good at it. China also specializes in specialties such as Jasmine tea. This type of tea is processed by layering jasmine petals over the tea leaves for several nights (how romantic). <br /><br />Try our Bai Hao Yin Zhen, Dragonwell and Butterfly Jasmine teas. <b>Japan</b> <br /> Tea spread throughout Japan after it was brought there from China by a Buddhist monk in the 8th century. Japan only produces green tea, but the quality and price vary enormously. Because Japan likes to do things differently from China, they employ unique production methods, like steaming the tea leaves or grinding them up into matcha (powdered tea that is whisked into water).<br /><br />Try our Organic Japanese Sencha, Gyokuru Yamashiro and Matcha Genmaicha teas <b>Taiwan</b> <br /> The island of Taiwan is most famous for its excellent oolong teas. In the mountainous rural areas to the north and northeast, tea is cultivated by about 100 relatively small tea companies and families. <br /><br />Try our Vanilla Oolong, Long Life Oolong, and High Mountain Oolong teas.