Charleston "Green Giant" tea harvester

This is the "Green Giant", a custom made tea harvesting machine exclusive to The Charleston Tea Plantation in South Carolina; the only Tea Plantation in the United States. What would take upwards of 500 cheap laborers to pick, is done with this machine and a total staff of 4 people; the only way they can compete on the international market. The machine trims the top (not the sides) of the plants and the clippings are blown into a collection basket on the back. The Plantation is open for trolley tours of the fields and a video guided tour of the processing facility. The only other Tea Plantations on the continent are in Argentina. This video was taken while on a Tea buying trip for Mary's Of Course Cafe in Winston Salem, North Carolina.