Returning this year at the Taste of Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival 2021 is the English Tea Garden presented by Twinings of London. This lovely traditional tea garden is over in the UK pavilion and should be on your list of things to do if you are interested in tea!
One of the highlights is seeing real, live tea plants! These are the camellia sinensis plants from which all varieties of tea are made. That’s right – black, green, oolong, white and puerh teas are all produced from the camellia sinensis and have been for thousands of years. Everyone should take advantage of seeing this plant up close because there are very few opportunities to do so in this part of the world. While there are a few places in North America that grow tea such as in South Carolina, Mississippi, and Hawaii, tea mainly grows in regions of the far east like China, India, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and Japan.
Another highlight this year is the self-guided tea tour. Just stop in to the Tea Caddy, which is the Twinings tea shop on the corner in the UK pavilion, and grab one of the tea tour pamphlets. The map will show you all around the garden and detail all of the plants used to make the various types of teas and herbal blends they offer. At the end of the tour be sure to go back into the tea shop and tell a cast member you finished and you will get some free tea to take home!
While wandering around the garden, be on the lookout for Alice or Mary Poppins, they tend to make frequent stops in the garden!
