Once a year in the life of the Hammond Garden Club we must make a “Road Trip”! We love our road trips because we learn so much, we choose a great place to have lunch and it’s always a great time had by all.
This March was just that trip, we met at the usual spot, the parking lot in front of Dillards and “wagon trained” in five or six cars to Brookhaven, Mississippi to visit and tour the Great Mississippi Tea Company.
We arrived on time (but on the wrong side of the highway) and were met by owner Jason McDonald and partner Timothy Gipson. The tea company was created after McDonald’s timber crop was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. After some research they found that tea was a good sustainable crop for the climate in southwest Mississippi. Gipson likes the hands on part of the job as he says “plucking the tea and doing the field work, I hate being stuck behind a desk all day”.
The Great Mississippi Tea Company has four kinds of teas, the green is the Mississippi Queen; the yellow, which is the Mississippi Sunshine; the oolong, which is Delta Oolong and Black Magnolia which is their black tea.
I am a tea drinker both hot, in the morning and cold other times of the day. Never in my wildest thoughts did I ever imagine there were so many processes in making a cup of tea! Nor did I know the biggest difference in making black, green, yellow and oolong teas was the time involved in cutting it from the hedges and the amount of drying time of the leaves. There are so many machines used in drying and withering. Others that are for rolling the leaves; there are huge bamboo baskets also used in drying. It’s really unbelievable!
McDonald said it took four years before they stopped losing money. They traveled all over for education starting with some of the states at first then China, England and Hawaii. After seven years and five crops they are now selling worldwide. McDonald said “Someone called me from Aruba and said , ‘You’re on the front page of the paper here’!”
After many thanks for our education on tea we climbed into our chariots and on to our next delight which of course was lunch in McComb at The Dinner Bell. What an experience that was since a few of us had never been there, myself included. Imagine a table large enough for 18 to 20 people to be seated with a giant lazy susan in the center sending bowls of good old country cookin’ round and round. It was chuck full of wonderfully crispy fried chicken, clouds of mashed potatoes, rice, dumplings, so many different vegetables; squash, black eyed peas, corn, greens and for dessert the best banana pudding, (which I opted for) and something else that was chocolate! Iced tea to wet the palate, and they just kept the bowls and your glasses filled the entire time! If you left there hungry it was your fault!
We all then filed out the side door to pose in front of the huge sign so everyone would know where we had been! Into the cars once again for the ride back to Hammond, full of how to make tea and very full tummies! Wonderful day with our friends!
The Hammond Garden Club is a proud member of District VI, Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. and the Deep South Garden Clubs, Inc. doing our best to unify and beautify our homes, gardens, our city and our nation every day to the best of our ability. God Bless Hammond and God Bless America!
by Linda Broussard
she is a member of the Hammond Garden Club
This March was just that trip, we met at the usual spot, the parking lot in front of Dillards and “wagon trained” in five or six cars to Brookhaven, Mississippi to visit and tour the Great Mississippi Tea Company.
We arrived on time (but on the wrong side of the highway) and were met by owner Jason McDonald and partner Timothy Gipson. The tea company was created after McDonald’s timber crop was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. After some research they found that tea was a good sustainable crop for the climate in southwest Mississippi. Gipson likes the hands on part of the job as he says “plucking the tea and doing the field work, I hate being stuck behind a desk all day”.
The Great Mississippi Tea Company has four kinds of teas, the green is the Mississippi Queen; the yellow, which is the Mississippi Sunshine; the oolong, which is Delta Oolong and Black Magnolia which is their black tea.
I am a tea drinker both hot, in the morning and cold other times of the day. Never in my wildest thoughts did I ever imagine there were so many processes in making a cup of tea! Nor did I know the biggest difference in making black, green, yellow and oolong teas was the time involved in cutting it from the hedges and the amount of drying time of the leaves. There are so many machines used in drying and withering. Others that are for rolling the leaves; there are huge bamboo baskets also used in drying. It’s really unbelievable!
McDonald said it took four years before they stopped losing money. They traveled all over for education starting with some of the states at first then China, England and Hawaii. After seven years and five crops they are now selling worldwide. McDonald said “Someone called me from Aruba and said , ‘You’re on the front page of the paper here’!”
After many thanks for our education on tea we climbed into our chariots and on to our next delight which of course was lunch in McComb at The Dinner Bell. What an experience that was since a few of us had never been there, myself included. Imagine a table large enough for 18 to 20 people to be seated with a giant lazy susan in the center sending bowls of good old country cookin’ round and round. It was chuck full of wonderfully crispy fried chicken, clouds of mashed potatoes, rice, dumplings, so many different vegetables; squash, black eyed peas, corn, greens and for dessert the best banana pudding, (which I opted for) and something else that was chocolate! Iced tea to wet the palate, and they just kept the bowls and your glasses filled the entire time! If you left there hungry it was your fault!
We all then filed out the side door to pose in front of the huge sign so everyone would know where we had been! Into the cars once again for the ride back to Hammond, full of how to make tea and very full tummies! Wonderful day with our friends!
The Hammond Garden Club is a proud member of District VI, Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. and the Deep South Garden Clubs, Inc. doing our best to unify and beautify our homes, gardens, our city and our nation every day to the best of our ability. God Bless Hammond and God Bless America!
by Linda Broussard
she is a member of the Hammond Garden Club
Hammond Garden Club members that enjoyed the very educational trip to the Great Mississippi Tea Company from left: Mary Ludwig (guest), Mary Thornhill, Gail Diebold (former member), Juanita Pearson, Marta Lichtl, Johanna Dagro, Linda Ross, Gayle Bornholdt, Phyllis diBenedetto, Ann Simmons, Karen Nelson, Linda Broussard, Sue Parrill and Linda Ryan