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Stardew Valley is packed with every crop and tree that you can think of. Out of these different types of plants, there is a particularly unique addition that can be added to your farm — the tea sapling.

Related: Stardew Valley: A Complete Guide To The Greenhouse

This little sapling will grow into a tea bush, which will yield tea leaves that can then be turned into green tea. In this guide, we are going to go over everything you need to know about tea leaves. First, let's take a look at how to unlock the saplings.

Updated May 27, 2023 by Jacqueline Zalace: We've updated the formatting of this guide to help with readability. Additionally, we've added a bit more information to help you get your first tea sapling.

How To Get A Tea Sapling

player interacted with caroline in her sunroom for her two heart event

The primary way to unlock tea saplings is to make them yourself. This can be done by obtaining the recipe from a certain NPC. Fortunately, it's fairly simple to get the recipe; to do so, you will need to experience the two-heart friendship event with Caroline.

Once you are at two friendship hearts with Caroline, head through the sunroom door in her kitchen between 9 am and 5 pm on any non-rainy day. Doing so will trigger the event, where Caroline tells you all about her sunroom.

After the event is done, you will be able to enter the sunroom whenever you want. Inside, there will be one tea bush that can be harvested. Additionally, Caroline will send you the tea sapling recipe in the mail.

Crafting A Tea Sapling

To craft the tea sapling, you will need the following materials.

  • 2x Wild Seeds
  • 5x Fiber
  • 5x Wood

As you can see, tea saplings are incredibly easy to make!

Tea Saplings From The Traveling Merchant

player standing next to traveling cart with merchant inside

In addition to crafting the tea sapling recipe, you will also be able to buy them from the traveling merchant. This is a vendor that appears on the north edge of the Cindersap Forest on Fridays and Sundays.

The traveling merchant has a lot of items in her rotating stock, so it may take a while until tea saplings appear in her inventory. When tea saplings are available, they will cost anywhere between 1,500g and 2,500g.

We recommend doing the event with Caroline rather than buying the tea sapling, as they can be quite pricy.

Growing Tea Leaves

player standing in large shed filled with tea leaves
via MissDefi/Steam

Growth Time

20 Days

Growing Season

Every Season except Winter

Regrow Time

Every Day, only during the Final Week of a Season

Once you have your tea sapling, plant it! You can plant the sapling anywhere on your farm, including inside the greenhouse or in a garden pot. In the image above, you can see tea bushes growing out of garden pots inside a shed.

Tea bushes take a long time to grow, but they do not need to be watered. After the bush has fully grown, it will only produce tea leaves for a short period of time. From day 22 to 28 of the season, you can harvest tea leaves every day.

Tea bushes will produce leaves every season except for Winter when planted outside. If you have tea bushes planted in indoor garden pots, then you can continue to collect their tea leaves in the winter.

We suggest planting your saplings either indoors or in your greenhouse for maximum production.

What To Do With Tea Leaves

players facing each other holding green tea
via T/Steam

Tea leaves will only sell for 50g, making them not very profitable. Additionally, you will not be able to consume the raw leaf. Fortunately, there are a few other things that you can do with tea leaves.

Green Tea

HP Gained

Energy Gained

Buff Gained

5

13

+30 Energy for 4min 12 sec

Placing tea leaves in a keg will produce green tea. Kegs take around three in-game hours to produce green tea. Green tea can be sold for 100g (140g with Artisan profession), or you can drink it for an energy buff shown above.

This beverage is loved by Caroline and Mayor Lewis. Every other villager likes green tea, except Jas and Vincent who hate it. Overall, it makes a pretty good gift.

Pickled Tea Leaves

Stardew Valley Kegs And Preserves Jars

Instead of placing tea leaves in a keg, you can add them to a preserves jar; doing so will produce pickled tea leaves. It will take a preserves jar two to three in-game days to produce the pickled tea leaves, which can be sold for 150g (210g with Artisan profession).

Unlike green tea, pickled tea leaves don't make the best gift. Caroline likes the product, but every other villager is neutral when receiving a jar of pickled tea leaves. Additionally, you won't be able to consume the pickled leaves. Overall, this method of processing tea leaves is done to earn more money.

Tea Bush Walls

Lastly, tea bushes act as 'walls' for both you and any animals that are on your farm. It's possible to create a natural wall for your farm with these bushes. Unlike normal fences, tea bushes will never deteriorate or need repairs.

Next: Stardew Valley: Every Secret Statue And Where To Find It