Tea Leaves

Tea Leaves are a vegetable harvested from Tea Bushes on a fixed seasonal schedule. A Tea Bush produces leaves every day during the last week of Spring, Summer, and Fall, from the 22nd through the 28th, and also during Winter if it is planted indoors. The bush has a long growth period: each stage lasts 10 days, for a total of 20 days to maturity, and after being harvested it regrows in 1 day. Because of that short regrowth time, a mature Tea Bush can provide a steady supply of leaves during its active season.

Tea Leaves have several uses beyond being sold raw. They can be placed in a Keg to make Green Tea, and they can also be processed in a Preserves Jar into Pickled Tea Leaves, which is the more profitable option. This makes Tea Leaves notable as both an ingredient and an artisan good source, especially for players who want to turn late-season harvests into extra income.

They are also used in other systems:

• Tea Leaves can be used in the Sewing Machine spool to create the dyeable green Shirt And Belt.
• They can be used as green dye at the dye pots in Emily’s and Haley’s house at 2 Willow Lane.
• A single Tea Leaves may be requested in a Fish Pond quest to increase a Woodskip pond’s capacity from 7 to 10.

Because Tea Bushes only produce during the last week of the season, Tea Leaves are most useful when you plan ahead. Planting and maintaining Tea Bushes early enough in Spring, Summer, or Fall ensures they mature before the 22nd, allowing you to take full advantage of their harvesting window. If the bush is indoors, it can continue producing in Winter as well, giving Tea Leaves an unusual year-round use case compared with many other seasonal crops.