Food / Waikato

Growing Chinese tea in Waikato

11:32 am on 25 May 2015

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Traditionally business people in Asia drink tea after dinner. When Tzu Chen arrived here from Taiwan, he couldn't find a good tea - but saw lots of camellias in Waikato. Now after nearly 20 years of hard work, tears and careful propagation they have 1.5 million lush sweet tea bushes, which spread over 48 hectares. Gigi Crawford is the GM of Zealong Tea, she says lots of people would have given up a long time ago but the founder didn't have a tea background, he just had an idea, and a love of tea.