Pricey tea a growing niche crop in US, even Canada

In this Feb. 29, 2016 photograph, grower Jason McDonald, owner of The Great Mississippi Tea Company, shows some of the tea plant seeds imported at his farm near Brookhaven, Miss. A growing number of North American farmers from Mississippi to British Columbia are growing tea for the high-priced specialty market. McDonald began to farm tea after Hurricane Katrina wiped out his timber. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) In this Feb. 29, 2016 photograph, grower Jason McDonald, owner of The Great Mississippi Tea Company, shows some of the tea plant seeds imported at his farm near Brookhaven, Miss. A growing number of North American farmers from Mississippi to British Columbia are growing tea for the high-priced specialty market. McDonald began to farm tea after Hurricane Katrina wiped out his timber. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

By Associated Press March 13, 2016 4 min read

BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP) – After Hurricane Katrina wiped out his timber 11 years ago, Jason McDonald wanted a crop less susceptible to Mississippi’s potentially powerful storms.

Low maintenance was also a priority.

“I didn’t want to be a cattle farmer and chase down cattle at 3 or 4 in the morning,” McDonald said.

A chance encounter with South Carolina tea drew him into the growing ranks of North American farmers from Mississippi to British Columbia who are growing tea for the high-priced specialty market.

There’s money to be made because more Americans are willing to pay premium prices for what they consider top quality, tea consultant Nigel Melican said in a phone interview from Bedford, England.