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Only the top three leaves are picked.

Food miles craze reaches the traditional British cuppa...

More and more Brits are growing tea in their own gardens in the quest for the ultimate 'homegrown' cuppa.

With the 'grow your own' movement still in full swing, sales of Camellia sinensis - the common tea plant - are rocketing as gardeners realise it thrives in the UK's climate.

Contrary to popular belief, tea plants don't require heat and humidity to grow, rather preferring temperate regions with plenty of moisture.

The UK already boasts two tea plantations - one in Cornwall and the other in the Scottish Highlands - with a third planned for Northern Ireland.

But now domestic gardeners are catching on to the idea of an on-demand supply of tea from their back gardens, and creating their own 'mini plantations' at home.

And just like in traditional tea-growing countries like China and Africa, the young leaves of UK-grown plants can be picked in spring and used straight away to make green tea or dried to make regular black tea.