Growing tea plants (Camellia sinensis)

I'm taking an interest in growing tea in some of my hydroponic systems and was seeing if anyone on this forum has any knowledge or experience with doing this.  Any input would be appreciated.  I think it would be great to have fresh tea year round since my systems are indoors.  From what I'm reading apparently it can take a few years before the plants are capable of producing enough leaves for a decent harvest, so this would have to be an investment if I decide to do it.
 
Thanks.
 

i tried from seed and failed. the seed was given to me from an east indian neighbour who was raised on a tea plantation. to be fair, the seed she guessed was 60 years old! i babied the seed before planting, voodoo rituals and anything else i could find on the internet on "growing tea from seed", just to give it a chance, it sat in soil for over 6 months but nothing happened.
 
i always look to see if local nurseries are carrying tea plants but have never found them.
 
good luck.