Growing tea in Hawaii

Hawaiian Kona coffee is widely known and prized among the gourmet coffee connoisseurs worldwide. Can Hawaii grown tea be far behind?That is the aim of a very small group of Big Island tea growers.

For the last few years several small farmers and other enthusiasts on the east coast of Hawaii Island have been planting smallexperimental plots of Camellia sinensis, the `mother of all teas'. Some started with just a few bushes and others already have an acreor more of established plants.

Dwight Sato, the extension agent with the University of Hawaii, College of Agriculture in Hilo, and Francis Zee, a horticulturistfor the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Pacific Basin Agriculture Research Center, have been involved in the Big Island tea growingproject from its inception, about six years ago. 

Recently the Hawaii Tea Society conducted its very first taste competition. Cupping, as it is called, is a very precise ritual inwhich a specific amount of water is heated to a certain temperature and an exact amount of tea is measured for steeping. The tea leavesare then steeped for precisely 3 minutes before the sipping or tasting is conducted.

Tea was grown commercially in Hawaii from the time it was introduced in 1887 until 1892, when it sort of dwindled and eventually died.At this time the growing of tea in Hawaii is confined to a small specialized niche market and according to Eva Lee, president of theHawaii Tea Society, all the planters are learning as they go.

Lee and her husband artist-photographer Chiu Leong have planted tea in about a quarter acre of space under the canopy of hapu'u fernsand ohia trees, surrounding their home and studio in the Village of Volcano. 

They started out by hand clearing the kahili ginger and planting tea in its place. Their life style has always embraced tea, Chiu withhis practice of Chanoyu Japanese tea ceremony and Eva with Kung Fu Cha Chinese tea ceremony. These are the cultural practices that theyinclude as tea growers. They have created an agro-tea business they call Tea Hawaii offering a tour of their garden and tasting oforganic Hawaii grown tea with tea ceramics made by Chiu. Their tea presentations are poetic experiences with informative education onHawaii's developing specialty tea industry. 

Photo credit: Eva Lee and Chiu Leong

 Another artist turned tea grower in the Volcano area, well-known woodworker Mike Riley, says Dwight Sato is the focal point on whomall of the growers rely for information, research resources, encouragement and moral support. He goes on to say Francis Zee isthe Godfather of Hawaii grown tea and with his enthusiasm has inspired the little band of growers to accomplish much in such asmall amount of time.

At this time Riley has a quarter of an acre from which he is already harvesting and just finished planting another quarter acre.Eventually he is hoping for two acres growing under his forest canopy. 

"Processing is the art" he exclaims. "Each farm will have its own unique tea". Comparing tea with wine, he comments "Like wine,though made with basically some of the same grapes, each vintner's product has its own identity. Tea grown in the different farms willeach have their own personality. The essence of tea is in the processing".  

"This is a labor or love. It has to come from the heart. I'm comparing where we stand now as growers with the progress made by achild. We are now taking our first steps. Looking to the future, tea grown in Hawaii is a viable crop for small farmers. I think wewill do it through cooperation, not competition."

Rob Nunally and Michael Longo started their tea farm overlooking Onomea Bay near Papaikou in 2003 and currently have nearly an acreplanted. Their goal is to have 3 acres under cultivation by 2009. At this time most of the tea they are producing is for their ownconsumption and that of their friends, but foresee their efforts expanding in the near future.

Michael Longo says "We both feel that the growth of the tea industry will be a boon to Hawaii. Hawaii is a wonderful place for tea farmsas well as all aspects of tea culture. It will not only enhance the growth of clean, chemical-free, agriculture in our state, but alsoprovide opportunities for diversified tourism and local experiences.  We envision many more tea farms, tea presentations, tea houses, B &B's providing tea experiences, not to mention a wide variety of tea products and value-added gift items that both tourists and localswill be able to find at local shops and markets. 

"Tea is coming to Hawaii and we are very excited for everyone.""Our intention is to create a small, family operation that grows, hand-processes and markets our own organic, green, partially-oxidized as well as black teas. Our dream includes a small tea house on our property that could provide a market place for our teas andother Hawaii-grown teas and value-added products, as well as offering tea-cultural experiences to the public."

"Our experience so far has been that tea, Camellia sinensis, grows well in Hawaii at all elevations and that tea growers here arealready processing some very fine teas. We see ourselves as pioneers and facilitators in Hawaii for people to learn about and experiencethe joys and health benefits of tea"

Nadao Honda considers himself a small tea grower. He joined the Hawaii Tea Society in 2004 and planted 64 Camellia sinensis plantson his property in Honoka'a and eventually wants to reach 100. His first picking was in March of this year. He does not see himselfgrowing many acres but would like to experiment with different varieties.

Although still a beginner in his own words, Mr. Honda is excited about the possibilities of experimenting with different flavoredteas in the future by adding other island grown products such as ginger, vanilla and the essence of tropical fruits to the tea blends.All of the growers agree that because of the higher cost of producing artisan tea (hand-picked versus machine harvesting) in theisland as compared to the well-established tea growers in other countries, the Hawaii grown tea will have to be exceptional andappeal to connoisseurs in the tea specialty markets of the world to be able to compete.

Tea was being grown in the Charleston area of South Carolina as early as 1744 but ended abruptly in the 1850's when the planterdied. After his death, several others tried to make a go of it through the years, but all failed until the 1960's when the ThomasJ. Lipton company established a tea growing research station in Wadmalaw Island. At this time, South Carolina is the only state inthe Union growing tea commercially, but they all believe Hawaii will be competing with them in the foreseeable near future, although theyexpect Hawaii grown tea will be aimed at specialized niches and not the bulk market.

In talking with all of the Hawaii growers what impresses me most is that they all firmly believe they are not competitors in this field,but associates who share the same interests and who rely on each other for encouragement and support. They share plants, plantingand fertilizing tips and their enthusiasm generates yet more interest and support.

I just recently learned that David Becker, my own editor at The Hamakua Times of Honoka'a, and his partner Paul Takamatsu have hopesof joining the ranks of Hawaii tea growers and to this end have recently acquired some plants.

To these fledging hopefuls and to the more seasoned growers, we say well done and may your harvests be fruitful.They are all very excited with how much progress the Hawaii Tea Society has made in just the last couple of years and for the mediaexposure which has attracted interest and support from the general public and from our political representatives wanting to know whatthey can do to help.   

Hawaii Community College Office of Continuing Education & Training has implemented an Educational Exploration tea tour with the visitorindustry and with future collaborations including the Hawaii Tea Society.

2007 is poised to be another exciting year for the members of the Hawaii Tea Society. 

Growing tea in Hawaii - (c) By Sonia Martinez(November 17, 2006 - The Hawaii Island Journal - "Made in Hawaii"issue)