Here I am! Your very own baby tea plant. I hope you will take good care of me. Put me somewhere indoors with lots of light and give me a little water every other day.

After 2 weeks of pampering, it is ti me for a larger pot! Preferably a pot of 2 litres or more with holes for drainage underneath (so I don’t ‘drown’).

You can now put me outside. Put me in partial shade for a week or so, so I can acclimatise to the harsh sun. I can tolerate cold, but I need to take shelter in a cool place indoors if temperatures drop below -5°C. I remain green all year round.

What you nurture will grow. I do my very best. Once I am twice the height of my pot, it is time for a larger home.

Prune me back a little in spring. I will then take on a fuller shape and produce more young tea leaves. I get a little peckish when I develop new leaves and will be very grateful for a little extra plant food!

You decide how tall I become. The bigger my pot the more leaves I produce. In milder places you can put me in the open ground.

Once your tea plant is a little bigger, you can harvest the leaves yourself.

This is how you go about making black tea:

1) Pick the last four leaves on the end of a sprig during the growing

season (starti ng in May).

2) Roll the leaves into a ball until they take on a reddish hue.

3) Allow the leaves to ferment in a cool, dark place for 2 to 3 days.

4) Dry the leaves in the oven for 20 minutes at 120°C.

5) Tea-ti me!