Yes! While many people associate tea with regions like China, Japan, and India, Maui Tea Farm, nestled on the slopes of Haleakalā, cultivates traditional tea (Camellia sinensis) as well as native Hawaiian medicinal plants like māmaki. Their work is a testament to sustainability and small-scale organic farming. We proudly feature their teas in our afternoon tea and high tea offerings through Camellia Tea Society, allowing our guests to sip on flavors grown right here in Hawai‘i.

Hawaiʻi is also home to other small tea growers dedicated to regenerative agriculture, like Kona Coffee & Tea on the Big Island, which grows traditional Japanese-style green teas. These local farms are pioneering efforts to cultivate high-quality tea in Hawai‘i’s volcanic soil, creating unique flavors that reflect the richness of the land.

For tea lovers visiting Maui, a farm tour or tasting offers an opportunity to experience the island’s agricultural landscape through something a little different from the usual tropical fruit and coffee.

And yes, tea grown on the slopes of a Hawaiian volcano makes a rather lovely souvenir.

Long before Camellia sinensis was cultivated in Hawaiʻi, Native Hawaiians had their own relationships with plants used for food, wellness, and traditional healing.

One of the best-known examples is māmaki, an endemic Hawaiian plant whose leaves are commonly brewed into a naturally caffeine-free herbal infusion.

Māmaki has a long history of traditional use and remains an important part of Hawaiʻi’s botanical heritage.

Other plants associated with traditional Hawaiian herbal practices include koʻokoʻolau, ʻuhaloa, and pōpolo.

These plants have distinct cultural histories and uses, and their significance extends beyond simply being ingredients in a cup of tea.

Today, Hawaiian-grown herbal infusions offer another way to appreciate the islands’ botanical diversity while supporting local growers.

Technically speaking, not everything we call tea is actually tea.

True tea comes from one plant: Camellia sinensis.

Green, black, white, oolong, and pu-erh teas all begin with this same remarkable plant. Their differences come primarily from how the leaves are harvested, processed, oxidized, and sometimes aged.

Tisanes, on the other hand, are infusions made from other botanicals, including flowers, leaves, herbs, fruits, roots, and spices.

Chamomile, peppermint, hibiscus, lemongrass, and Hawaiʻi’s own māmaki all fall into this category.

Both have their place at a beautiful tea table.

And while traditional tea offers an extraordinary range of flavors and aromas, botanical infusions open the door to an entirely different world of colors, fragrances, and combinations.

Like so much of Hawaiʻi’s contemporary food culture, tea reflects generations of migration, cultural exchange, and adaptation.

Chinese and Japanese communities brought longstanding tea traditions to the islands, particularly during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Those traditions became part of the broader cultural landscape of Hawaiʻi, alongside Native Hawaiian practices and the customs of other immigrant communities.

Today, tea on Maui can mean many different things.

It might be a cup of Japanese green tea, Chinese oolong, locally grown black tea, Hawaiian māmaki, or an elaborate afternoon gathering inspired by European tea traditions.

Each has its own history, and each offers a different way to slow down and appreciate what’s in the cup.

Here’s a little secret: the elegant tea parties most people call high tea are technically closer to afternoon tea.

Traditional British afternoon tea developed as a social ritual, with tea accompanied by small sandwiches, scones, pastries, and sweets.

Historically, high tea referred to a more substantial evening meal enjoyed by working families, often served at the dining table after a long day.

Over time, particularly outside Britain, the terms became increasingly interchangeable.

Today, when someone searches for high tea on Maui, they’re usually imagining exactly what we love: beautiful teacups, tiered trays, delicate savory bites, sweets, flowers, and an afternoon spent lingering with friends.

And while we appreciate the history, we aren’t particularly interested in policing anyone’s tea vocabulary.

We’re much more interested in making the experience beautiful.

My love affair with tea began long before Camellia Tea Society existed.

In my twenties, I worked as a tea tender at the original Samovar Tea Lounge in San Francisco, where I fell completely in love with tea culture.

Not just the flavors or the remarkable variety of leaves, but the ritual surrounding them.

Tea created an invitation to slow down. To be present. To connect with the person sitting across from you.

Years later, after making Maui home and founding Lotus Chefs, that appreciation naturally found its way into our private dining experiences.

We began creating intimate tea parties, pairing beautiful food with thoughtfully chosen teas and collected vintage serving pieces.

What started as another way to gather gradually became something much bigger.

The teacup collection grew. So did the ideas.

There were vintage champagne coupes, mismatched saucers, elaborate florals, tiny sandwiches, whimsical themes, and the realization that what we loved most wasn’t simply serving tea.

It was creating an entire little world around the art of gathering.

And eventually, that world needed a name of its own.