TextArea.java

package com.company.seleniumframework.functional;

import com.company.seleniumframework.AutomationTest;
import com.company.seleniumframework.Browser;
import com.company.seleniumframework.Config;
import org.junit.Test;
import org.openqa.selenium.By;

@Config(url="http://aviprobo.doorfree.com/control.html", browser= Browser.CHROME)
public class TextArea extends AutomationTest {
    @Test
    public void testTextArea() {
        log("Value attr: " + driver.findElement(By.id("control")).getAttribute("value"))
        .log("Text: "      + driver.findElement(By.id("control")).getText());
    }
}

Renders:

Value attr: THIS IS A TEXT AREA.
Text: THIS IS A TEXT AREA.