Watching a master at their trade is fascinating regardless of what trade it is. These happen to be master tea leave pickers. The top 1-2 inches of the Tea Tree are plucked.  Surprising fact is that a tea tree is a tree and can grow to be over 15 meters/ 50 ft. But they are cropped down so that it is easy to weave in an out of the pathways to pluck the top leaves every 7-14 days.

Not just manual labor, these women have been picking tea for generations and have become masters.

combing over the tea tree, these workers pluck the top 1-2 inches for the harvest

The women from the local tribes have been picking leaves here for years, and their mothers and grandmothers have done the same. I was fortunate enough to get a few smiles from these ladies and try it out myself. The trick is getting the right part of the plant. The top leaves are the target and they are picked every two weeks.  I have been taking notes about tea and will visit the plantation museum this week to fill you in with more details. Today I was just excited to get out into the open air and see these masters in action.

Drew picks a few leaves off the top. Learning how its done.