Didn't know you were Cornish - that explains the jersey*!
I suspect Cornwall just doesn't have temperatures, sunshine and altitude for tea, and while it probably gets enough rain, it might be not seasonal enough.
Apparently it's all Churchill's fault. He realised that we would never win the war if our vital tea import lines were cut, so wanted to grow it in Britain. He was right of course and in the end the righteous tea-drinking nations (Britain and Russia) were victorious over the coffee-drinking German and Italians! (we'll ignore the Americans cos they were late as always and the Japanese, well, clearly they were intent on Assam and Darjeeling to supplement their own tea growing regions!)
*No, it doesn't, does it? Wrong way round.
