Lipton had been using the plantation as a tea research facility. The plantation now produces American Classic tea. In 1799 Andre' Micheaux, a French botanist brought the first tea plants and seeds to the United States of America. He took these to Middleton Barony which is now known as Middleton Place Gardens, near Charleston. Tea, a member of the Camellia family, is known as Camellia sinensis.
Tea is also the world's most popular beverage except water.
The first commercial attempt to produce tea in the United States was in Greenville, South Carolina in 1848 by Dr. Junius Smith at his Golden Grove Plantation. This attempt ended when Dr. Smith was fatally shot in 1853. In 1874 Dr. Alexis Forster attempted to produce tea in the United States on a plantation near Georgetown South Carolina. This attempt ended in 1879 when Dr. Forster was killed when his buggy flipped over while he was attempting to flee a group of rascals. In 1888 Dr. Charles Shepard established the Pinehurst Tea Plantation in Summerville South Carolina.