The security agent waited patiently as we maneuvered our bags of precious cuttings of Camellia sinensis into the x-ray machine at the Hilo International Airport.
Ketsana Phitsamay and I had spent the entire day preparing and packing tea bushes from the Mealani Research Center on the Big Island of Hawaii. We were determined to preserve every one on our short flight back to Oahu. The cuttings were for a modest nursery we had started together in 2011, in a valley adjacent to the concrete jungle of Honolulu.
Four years later, Phitsamay, now known as Supakets the Ninja Tea Farmer, maintains one of the most diverse collections of tea genomes in the United States. He will soon be able to process extremely small batches of tea to share with friends and family.
His story is not uncommon in Hawaii where the fledging “tea industry” is a mix of enterprising operations and hobbyists that are utilizing an ideal growing environment to make small scale batches of tea. A 2014 survey conducted by the University of Hawaii with 32 respondents from four islands showed that the majority (74%) of tea gardens in Hawaii are less than five years old and the total estimated amount of tea farm land is about 23 acres. By comparison, a single tea estate in Darjeeling covers hundreds of acres and those in Assam, thousands of acres.
Ideal terroir for tea
The founders of the The Hawaii Coffee and Tea Co. were some of the first to recognize Hawaii’s ideal climate and by 1892 the company was operating a five-acre estate on Kona. But commercial production was abandoned after a few years due to the high cost of labor compared to operations in Asia and Africa. Sugar cane became the dominate cash crop for a century.
Small tea garden operations began to pop up only within the past few decades. As a result dozens of other farmers are quickly learning that their soil, topography, biodiversity, climate, and rainfall are perfect for tea.
The islands of Hawaii were formed through violent volcanic eruptions that occurred on the bottom of the ocean floor. Over thousands of years this volcanic material broke down and welcomed organic life to create one of the most vibrant and diverse micro-ecosystem collections on the globe. What this means for tea is that many locations in the state, but not all, have an ideal soil pH of 4.5-5.5 and porous earth that allows for the smooth flow of water.
Bob Jacobson of Hawaii Rainforest Tea in Kurtistown on the Big Island was interested in planting a crop that would encourage the micro-biodiversity of his jungle land. He researched and found that Camellia sinensis was ideal for his soil. By leaving the indigenous Opia trees on the property, he would be able to maintain biodiversity and provide a natural shade which promotes tea quality. Now his tea plants are randomly dispersed through his small jungle property, along with indigenous trees and a variety of orchids which he says contribute to the flowery, sweet taste of the white teas that he is processing in small batches. This unconventional method of planting tea trees has made the labor of weeding and harvesting more intensive. Yet by putting great care into each step of processing, he is able to create a tea that won a Gold Medal at the North American Tea Championship in 2014.
Tea plants for Ohana
The first pioneers of tea in Hawaii were researchers at the USDA and University of Hawaii College of Tropical Science and Human Resources. The University of Hawaii continues to invest time and resources in field studies and some processing tests with the intention of sharing this information to the agriculture community.
Perhaps one of the greatest contributions the University has made to the tea industry is making tea plant material available for hobbyists and farmers. Due to the unbiased nature of their community involvement, cuttings or seeds from the research stations throughout the state may not be sold, but they can be harvested and collected by community members. Seminars and workshops are held throughout the year where potential and current tea growers can visit to learn about propagation, pruning, harvesting, and processing and are allowed to carry home plant material. This is not enough plant material to start a tea garden but enough to start up a small nursery.
With patience a small nursery can quickly expand into a tea garden. No one knows this better than Luana Stauffer of Lehuapele Tea Garden near Volcano on the Big Island. She and her partner Chuck started their tea growing journey with just a few cuttings they won as a door prize at a meeting of a local tea growers – a networking and support group called the Hawaii Tea Society. With hard work and diligence they have now propagated out five generations of tea plants which have accumulated into a sizable tea garden. Luana is processing small batches of green tea outside the yurt she lives in on their off-the-grid property.
There are thousands of micro-ecosystems throughout the state. Most tea growers have had to do their own variety selection to create cultivars that are best suited for their garden. To do this, they collect seeds from the best performing plant cuttings they have raised. These seeds are propagated, grown, and the top performing plants are then seed propagated through another cycle. This process could continue one to several more generations until the tea grower feels they have selected their “Mother Plant” which will be used for propagating cuttings out for future plantings.
Rob Nunally and Mike Longo have dedicated over a decade of their lives towards selecting the mother plants at their modest tea garden on the Hamakua Coast, near Hilo on the Big Island. This gave them much time to hone in on their propagation skills. They are working with just a few of their selected mother plants utilizing traditional cutting methods and a technique called “air layering” where the cuttings root while they are still on the mother plant before being transplanted to the soil. Smaller tea gardens such as Onomea Tea have an advantage over the large plantations of the rest of the tea world because they can employ new and innovative techniques at a small scale.
Tea as a Diversified Agriculture Solution
Not all tea growers in Hawaii started their gardens for the sole purpose of making tea. Some people are selecting Camellia sinensis because it is an ideal way to diversify their agriculture business. Others are planting tea for a completely different reason.
Jim Chestnut of Second Alarm Farm is an experienced coffee and macadamia nut farmer on the Big Island that planted Camellia sinensis as a way to attract bees to his property in order to increase biodiversity and the quality characteristics of his coffee. Jim received his first tea plant from a friend in 2010 which he treated as a decorative “Bonsai” style tree, but quickly realized that the bees loved the sweet flowers on the small bush. Over the next two years he began inter-planting tea plants and seeds in the coffee fields to attract more bees. This eventually turned into about 1,000 tea plants of harvestable size. His family now harvests the tea and is producing it in small batches. Something that started as a biodiversity tool has now become an additional revenue stream for the property.
Tea growing and processing is not just a diversification strategy, but can be a viable business opportunity. Other more dedicated tea growers have seen much success in the market for their teas. Eliah Halpenny of Big Island Tea planted her first tea seeds in 2002 and by 2011 had sold her entire season’s harvest to Harrods where it was later retailed at $4,800 per pound. The luxury retailer of UK was lucky to score such an exclusive on small batch, high quality tea. Several other dedicated tea growers are finding success with direct internet marketing and local distribution at farmers markets for their small batch teas.
Small Scale Encourages Diversity
Every tea grower in Hawaii has a different story and each tea yields a unique quality. The average size of a tea garden, according the University of Hawaii survey, is less than 1 acre large, so it would be easy for the tea world to assume all tea growers in Hawaii are and will continue to be only hobbyists. Although the hobbyists, like Supakets the Ninja Tea Farmer, are an important part of the tea culture of Hawaii, the industry as a whole is developing quite the reputation for quality. The world has become familiar with “Hawaii Grown Tea”, a brand built by hobbyists that has become an industry.
CTAHR Hawaii Tea Market Feasibility Report
CTAHR Hawaii Tea Survey
