Northern Idaho Grower Hopes to Raise Premium Tea

COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A northern Idaho woman is hoping that a flowering shrub used in premium teas will become the next crop of distinction for the region.

Josephie Dean Jackson told The Spokesman-Review newspaper that she's growing camellia plants on her 9-acre home in Coeur d'Alene, with the goal of producing premium teas under the name Coeur d'Tea.

Jackson has grown the evergreen shrubs since 2009 in east Texas. She uses the leaves for white, green, black, oolong and pressed teas that sell for up to $600 a pound retail.

Northern Idaho's landscape inspired her to buy her Coeur d'Alene home last year. She already has some seedlings in the ground, with an order for 10,000 seeds from Nepal due to arrive by the end of this year.