Fresh camellia sinensis leaves?

[hyakuraiju]

Are there any places that sell fresh leaves? I saw in a anime once someone having one sticking out of a cup of o-cha as a garnish, and wanted to try it ever since. I tried a dry leaf but it curled up and sank to the bottom.

[puerhking]

You could grow your own. I know some people on here do. Perhaps you could find a plant at a nursery near you...if not then....

http://cgi.ebay.com/10-Green-Tea-Plant- ... 19c00cd795

[Chubseus]

I may be a tea newbie, but gardening I can at least give advice on!

Camforest.com has a good reputation for quality, has a much wider selection than most, and I’ve heard the owner is nice and very knowledgeable. Most places that sell tea plants will only offer generic "camellia sinensis" and tell you that all tea comes from the same plant. Camforest is the only site I've found (though there may be others) that actually offers different varieties of tea plants. Example, there used to be a silver needle type plant offered, though this may have sold out for the season.

My advice would be to go with a one year old plant form a cutting (camellias cross easily so seedlings are a bit of a gamble), which is about $14. Shipping can get expensive, though if you're in NC they have an actual nursery to shop at.

No, I haven't grown tea, I've just done a lot of reading on gardening forums about it.

[Sirwill]

Camforest.com has a good reputation for quality, has a much wider selection than most, and I’ve heard the owner is nice and very knowledgeable. Most places that sell tea plants will only offer generic "camellia sinensis" and tell you that all tea comes from the same plant. Camforest is the only site I've found (though there may be others) that actually offers different varieties of tea plants. Example, there used to be a silver needle type plant offered, though this may have sold out for the season.

This is a video tour of CamForest.
http://vimeo.com/12700719
She shows how they grow and process tea.
Very informative if you would like to get to know how to do-it-yourself.

[hyakuraiju]

Thanks for the replies. It might too cold to grow my own now so I might have to check some nurseries in my area instead.

[Chip]

Ohhh, Camellia Forest Nursery. I dealt with them years ago, 90's I think. Nice to see they are still around. Pretty cool nursery, but never visited them.

They actually list some for Zone 6, that includes much of southeastern PA. Cool.

Ha, no Yutaka Midori varietal. I am guessing some of the prized varietals from Japan and China, you would have to tape them to your body to smuggle them out ala Midnight Express.

[Kunkali]

I don't think tea will grow well in my climate....really low humidity