A nice cup of English tea

The Tregothnan is the biggest private estate in Cornwall Watch: Rachel's full report

Rachel visits Britain's only tea plantation at the Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall.

What could be more English than a nice mug of tea?

Except that your average cup of English Breakfast probably contains tea from India, Sri Lanka, maybe Kenya and most likely some other hot, far away climes.

But there is now a new kid on the tea growing block: Cornwall.

Although one of the UK's sunniest counties, Cornwall is perhaps not the most likely place to find a tea plantation.

But since 1999, the Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall has been growing Camellia sinensis, better know as common tea.

"At first we had no idea whether people would pay more for English tea, but we've found that people are prepared to pay over a £1 a gramme for our first flush", says the estate's garden director, Jonathon Jones.

The estate plans to grow around one tonne of tear each year, with sales through specialist outlets.

But at almost £7 per packet, the company is aiming for the connoisseur end of the market.