List of Tea Producing Countries in the World
We've compiled a list of every tea-producing country across the globe that we could find, 64 in all. This is as complete a list as we've been able to make. To be included, a country must have at least one functioning commercial tea plantation or have been represented in the press about a notable tea-growing operation that sells tea. Botanical growers that do not make finished tea are not included. Most of the data was pulled from the most recent 2021 stats on the FAO Database.
At the bottom of the list are some fun charts and graphs of country rank by area, production, and historical production since 1961.
Argentina
Argentina is the 9th largest producer of tea in the world, at 339,288.41 tonnes, and the largest tea producer in the Americas. They are the 12th largest in the world in terms of area, with 34,867 hectares of tea farms. (Both data values were imputed.)
Australia
Tea has been grown in Queensland, Australia since 1884. Today, there are a number of commercial gardens in the states of Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. Notable farms include Madura, Two Rivers Green Tea, Daintree Tea, Nerada, Arakai Estate, and Perfect South, which grows Japanese-style green tea in Victoria. Australia is also home to a tea farm in Tasmania, at a single producer called Dry Ideas.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is the 35th largest producer of tea in the world, at 1,177.7 tonnes, and the 36th in area, with 696 hectares of tea farms.
Bangladesh
Bangladesh is the 8th largest producer of tea in the world, at 393,000 tonnes (estimated), and 9th in terms of area, with 54,936 hectares of tea farms.
Bhutan
Tea production exists in Bhutan outside of Trongsa. One notable garden is Samcholing Tea Estate.
Bolivia
The Plurinational State of Bolivia is the 34th largest producer of tea in the world, at 1,208.91 tonnes, and 41st in terms of area, with 279 hectares of tea farms.
Brazil
Brazil is the 40th largest producer of tea in the world, at 469 tonnes, and 42nd in terms of area, with 207 hectares of tea farms.
Burundi
Burundi is the 20th largest producer of tea in the world, at 50,357.49 tonnes, and 23rd in terms of area, with 8,830 hectares of tea farms. (Both data values were imputed.)
Canada
To our knowledge, there is only a single producer of specialty tea in Canada, Westholme Tea Farm on Vancouver Island.
Cambodia
Small amounts of tea are produced near Kirirom Mountain, the site of a large tea production that was wiped out by the Khmer Rouge. They export very little tea, but is the namesake of a variety of tea plant, Camellia sinensis var. parvifolia, sometimes called Camellia sinensis var. cambodiensis.
Cameroon
Cameroon is the 26th largest producer of tea in the world, at 5,559.16 tonnes, and 29th in terms of area, with 2,101 hectares of tea farms. (Data is both estimated and imputed.)
Chile
Chile is home to the Salus Tea Plantation, claimed to be the Southern-most tea plantation in the world.
China
China is the #1 largest producer of tea in the world, at a staggering 13,757,000 tonnes (estimated), and has been on top since 2005. China also is #1 in land devoted to tea growing, at 3,379,061 hectares. China is the birthplace of tea and the diversity of tea styles produced there is unparalleled. The top 5 growing regions, ranked by tea production, are:
Yunnan Province (云南省)
Fujian Province (福建省)
Hubei Province (湖北省)
Sichuan Province (四川省)
Hunan Province (湖南省)
Colombia
Colombia is the 43rd largest producer of tea in the world at 223.25 tonnes, and 44th in terms of area, with 89 hectares. The most notable producer of tea in Colombia is Bitaco Tea Estate, which produces specialty, organic tea, which I visited in 2017 in a truly magical trip.
Congo
Specifically, The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the 28th largest producer of tea in the world, with 4,055.32 tonnes, and the 14th in terms of area, at 30,425 hectares of tea farms. (Estimated data values.)
Ecuador
Ecuador is the 33rd largest producer of tea in the world at 1,621.68 tonnes, and the 35th in terms of area, at 861 hectares of tea farms. The largest tea producer in Ecuador is Te Sangay. (Estimated values.)
El Salvador
El Salvador is the 38th largest producer of tea in the world at 631.87 tonnes, and the 40th in terms of area, at 342 hectares of tea farms. (Imputed and estimated values.)
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is the 24th largest producer of tea in the world, at 10,489.82 tonnes, and the 22nd in terms of area, at 9,980 hectares of tea farms.
France
Réunion Island is an overseas department and region of France, just off the coast of Madagascar. And they grow tea, however I currently do not have data on how much. Mainland France seems to have numerous nurseries devoted to Camellias, and thus, also grow and sell tea plants.
Georgia
Georgia is the 29th largest producer of tea in the world, at 2,900 tonnes, and 27th in terms of area, with 2,674 hectares of tea farms. Georgia was once a formidable producer of tea, as a part of the Soviet Union. Their independence in 1991, and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Union, led to a vast reduction in tea production (over 99%), with many tea farms being completely abandoned. One notable company trying to revitalize the tea industry with specialty tea is Renegade Tea Estate.
Germany
There are a few small experimental tea-growing projects in Germany. A notable producer of specialty tea is Tschanara, growing Korean tea plants and others, located in the Bergischer Highlands near Cologne.
Guatemala
Guatemala is the 39th largest producer of tea in the world at 551.5 tonnes, and 32nd in terms of area, with 1,168 hectares of tea farms. (Estimated values.)
India
India is the #2 producer of tea in the world at a whopping 5,482,186.38 tonnes and also #2 in land devoted to tea growing as well, with 547,847 hectares (imputed values). India was the largest producer of tea for much of the 20th Century, since at least 1961 (likely much earlier, but I could not find data on this) up until 2005 when China took the top spot. Much of India’s tea production is concentrated in the areas of Darjeeling, Nilgiri, Dooars, and Assam, which is the single largest tea-growing region in the world. The top 5 growing states in India, ranked by production, are:
Assam
West Bengal
Tamil Nandu
Kerala
Karnataka
Indonesia
Indonesia is the 7th largest producer of tea in the world at 563,000 tonnes, and the 5th in terms of area, with 112,053 hectares of tea farms. Notably, Wonosari in East Java.
Iran
The Islamic Republic of Iran is the 17th largest producer of tea in the world, with 83,473.47 tonnes, a fair drop from 8th place in 2018. This may be due to a multitude of factors including dramatic increases in production from other countries and renewed trade embargoes. They are 20th in terms of area, with 13,966 hectares of tea farms. Currently, due to US sanctions, it's not possible to buy Iranian tea in the United States. (Imputed data.)
Japan
Japan is the 18th largest producer of tea in the world at 78,100 tonnes, and 10th in the world in terms of area, with 38,000 hectares of tea land, a larger disparity in ranks than most other countries. Japan’s production has fallen over the past few years, potentially due to both an aging population with fewer young people taking up tea farming, and the COVID-19 Pandemic (but this is an un-supported theory). Much of Japan’s production is green tea and machine-harvested and uniform in appearance. The top 5 growing Prefectures, ranked by tea production, are:
Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県)
Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県)
Mie Prefecture (三重県)
Miyazaki Prefecture (宮崎県)
Kyoto Urban Prefecture (京都府)
Kenya
Kenya is in the top five, being the #3 producer of tea in the world at 2,338,000 tonnes, and #4 in area, with 249,760 hectares of tea land. They host the Mombasa Auction, the second-largest tea auction in the world.
Laos
Laos, or Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the 23rd largest producer of tea in the world at 10,718.92 tonnes, and also 24th in terms of area with 5,100 hectares of tea land. (Imputed data.)
Madagascar
Madagascar is the 41st largest producer of tea in the world at 403.44 tonnes, and 33rd in area with 1,052 hectares of tea land. (Imputed data.)
Malawi
Malawi is the 11th largest producer of tea in the world at 205,351.45 tonnes, and 17th in terms of area with 17,253 hectares of tea land. A notable producer of specialty tea from Malawi is Satemwa Tea Estate. (Imputed data.)
Malaysia
Malaysia is the 25th largest producer of tea in the world at 7,077.62 tonnes, and 31st in terms of area, with 1,970 hectares of tea land. Malaysia is home to the largest tea plantation in Southeast Asia, the Boh Tea Plantation in the Cameron Highlands.
Mali
Mali is the 45th largest producer of tea in the world at 92.42 tonnes, and 45th in terms of area with 89 hectares farmed. (Estimated data.)
Mauritius
The island nation of Mauritius is the 36th largest producer of tea in the world at 1,097 tonnes, and 37th in terms of area, with 685 hectares farmed.
Montenegro
Montenegro is the 45th largest producer of tea in the world at 100 tonnes, and the 43rd in area, with 124 hectares of tea land. This is imputed data, however, I find it somewhat suspicious, as exactly 100 tonnes has been reported as their estimated output since 2006.
Mozambique
Mozambique is the 21st largest producer of tea in the world at 30,657.15 tonnes, and 11th in terms of area, with 36,656 hectares of tea land. (Imputed data.)
Myanmar
Myanmar is the 14th largest producer of tea in the world at 115,848.27 tonnes, and 7th in area, with 95,921 hectares of tea land. (Imputed data.)
Nepal
Nepal is the 15th largest producer of tea in the world at 103,000 tonnes, and 19th in area, with 16,017 hectares farmed. A fair amount of headway has been made in the United States selling Nepalese tea, largely spearheaded by Nishchal Banskota of the Nepal Tea Collective, who wrote for us back in 2017 about the state of Orthodox tea in Nepal. Another notable producer of specialty tea from Nepal is Jun Chiyabari.
Netherlands
There is but a single tea farm in the Netherlands near the Belgian border, selling green and black tea from a few thousand plants, called Het Zuyderblad.
New Zealand
There is only one major tea producer in New Zealand, Zealong. Zealong is a producer of high-quality oolong and black teas in Hamilton on New Zealand’s North Island.
Nigeria
There are several tea producers in Nigeria, including a tea plantation owned by Lipton in Agbara.
North Korea
As bizarre and unlikely as it sounds, it seems the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) began efforts to grow tea in 1982 with an edict by Kim II Sung. They call the tea Kangryong, after Kangryong County in South Hwanghae Province, the sole area the tea is produced. Apparently, they produce enough tea to satisfy many teahouses in the capital, and some have even tried it. More press about it.
Pakistan
The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council states that tea is being produced in Pakistan. It claims that they are the 3rd largest importer of tea in the world (although I cannot verify this). The most suitable areas for growing tea are the districts of Mansehra, Battagram, Swat, and AJK.
Panama
Panama produces tea, but no official data on output is available.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea is the 27th largest producer of tea in the world at 5,551.37 tonnes, and also 26th in area, with 3,797 hectares farmed. (Imputed data.)
Peru
Peru is the 32nd largest producer of tea in the world at 1,707.14 tonnes, and also 30th in area, with 2,030 hectares farmed. One notable producer is Runaq, in the district of Huayopata.
Portugal
The last data I could find estimated that Portugal produced around 84 tonnes of tea annually, on just about 19 hectares farmed, but I cannot confirm these figures. On the mainland there is a single producer called Chá Camélia, in Fornelo, near Vila do Conde, who produces Japanese-style green tea. Portugal also has Cha Gorreana on the island of São Miguel, perhaps the oldest still-operating tea farm in Western Europe, which has been in operation since 1883.
Russia
The Russian Federation is the 42nd largest producer of tea in the world at 229.3 tonnes, and also 39th in area, with 360 hectares farmed. Russia grew a quite large amount of tea during its time as the Soviet Union (mainly in soviet controlled territories like Georgia). After their collapse and dissolution at the end of 1991, tea production fell substantially.
Rwanda
Rwanda is the 12th largest producer of tea in the world at 149,627.41 tonnes, and 15th in terms of area, with 26,309 hectares of tea land. Tea was introduced in Rwanda in 1952 and is now one of the country’s largest exports. Growing is mainly concentrated around Nyungwe National Park, further divided into Gisoyu tea and Gisakura tea.
Seychelles
The archipelagic state of Seychelles is the 46th largest producer of tea in the world at 7.73 tonnes, and also 46th in area, with 17 hectares. (Imputed data.)
South Africa
South Africa is the 31st largest producer of tea in the world at 1,807.16 tonnes, and 34th in terms of area, with 877 hectares of tea land.
South Korea
The Republic of Korea (South Korea) is the 30th largest producer of tea in the world at 2,334.14 tonnes, and 28th in terms of area, with 2,184 hectares of tea land. The largest tea-growing region here is Boseong County; other notable producing areas are Jangseong County, Jeju Island, and Hadong County.
Spain
Quinteiro da Cruz is a botanic garden and winery, with 600 species and cultivars and a specialization on Camellias. Located in the Val do Salnés in Pontevedra, Galicia, they process a small amount of green tea from their plants for visitors to enjoy.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is the #5 largest producer of tea in the world at 1,302,000 tonnes, and #3 in terms of area, with 266,509 hectares of tea land. They grow tea all over the island, but mostly around the Southern mountain ranges. The Sri Lanka Tea Board holds trademarks for the following growing regions: Sabaragamuwa, Nuwara-Eliya, Dimbula, Ruhuna, Uva, Uda Pussellawa, and Kandy. Tony visited there a few years back to explore some different styles of tea.
Switzerland
Casa del Té is a tiny tea plantation devoted to the art of growing and sharing tea, up on the hill of Monte Verità, above Ascona and Lake Maggiore. This hill is fairly historic for the region and provides a picturesque setting for the tea farm. They perform traditional Japanese Tea Ceremonies and sell all sorts of tea and teaware.
Taiwan
The island of Taiwan, as distinct from China, is the 22nd largest producer of tea in the world at 11,883 tonnes, and the 21st in terms of area, with 11,890 hectares of land. They are known primarily for the production of wulong teas. They grow tea over the entire island, from the flatter lands to the West to the slopes of the five mountain ranges running along the East coast.
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is the 13th largest producer of tea in the world at 120,000 tonnes, and 18th in terms of area, with 16,998 hectares of tea land. They grow mostly mass-market tea, much of it for Unilever Tea Tanzania (Lipton). They’ve recently invested in growing their tea market even larger, and plan to hold tea auctions within the country. Notable growing regions are Njombe, Iringa, Mbeya, Tanga, and Kagera.
Thailand
Thailand is the 16th largest producer of tea in the world at 98,715.11 tonnes, and 16th in area, with 19,136 hectares of tea land. The areas around Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the North are the major tea-producing regions in Thailand. (Imputed data.)
Turkey
Turkey is now in the top 5 producers of tea in the world, as the #4 largest producer of tea at 1,450,000 tonnes. They are 8th in area, with 82,247 hectares of tea land. Turkey’s tea production is entirely concentrated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea in the north. The Kaçkar Mountains and the proximity to the Black Sea create a climate here that is quite wet and protected from the dry lands in the rest of Turkey. As a result, this region has a ‘rainy season’ much like the other East Asian producing countries (except opposite months). Rize produces over 66% of the tea in Turkey. The top 5 producing regions, by production, are:
Rize Province
Trabzon Province
Artvin Province
Giresun Province
Ordu Province
Uganda
Uganda is the 10th largest producer of tea in the world at 320,736.89 tonnes, and 13th in area, with 34,691 hectares of tea land. (Imputed data.)
United Kingdom
Tea has started to pop up all around the United Kingdom. From the Tregothnan estate (likely the first commercial estate in the UK), producing tea in Cornwall, to Peterston Tea Estate in Wales, to quite a few Scottish tea growers, including Kinnettles Gold, Broich Tea Garden, and Windy Hollow, a fully Organic tea farm in Perthshire. You can see them all on our European Tea Growers page.
United States
There are many small tea farms in the United States, with the largest in South Carolina, owned by Bigelow. The largest concentration of tea producers is in Hawaii.
Vietnam
Vietnam is the #6 largest producer of tea in the world at 1,073,000 tonnes, and also #6 in terms of area, with 110,000 hectares of tea land. We've explored the tea-growing regions before, in addition to the history of tea production there.
Zambia
Zambia is the 37th largest producer of tea in the world at 932.2 tonnes, and the 38th in area, with 680 hectares of land.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is the 19th largest producer of tea in the world at 65,384.53 tonnes, and the 25th in area, with 4,585 hectares of tea land. (Imputed data.)
