The Story Behind California’s Only Tea Farm
Tea consumption is growing in the US due to increasing health awareness while Coffee is recognized as the favorite hot drink. Hawaii islands is well known for her commercial tea cultivation. Other than that there are very few tea farms located in the US mainland. Charleston tea plantation in South Carolina (http://www.charlestonteaplantation.com/) is the largest among all. But now, I am going to provide you some details about half-acre tea farm situated in California where the most passionate tea drinkers are concentrated.
Background
As far as Mike Fritts (The owner) knows, his small plantation of 500 small trees in Concow may be the only commercial tea farm in California. Golden Feather Tea began few years back as just a few plants, and now takes up most of Fritts’ back yard. His plan is to expand to several more acres of land nearby. To make that all happen he plans to take on an investor or apply for a small business loan.
In the meantime, it’s business as usual, harvesting and processing his tea by hand, taking care to keep the quality high-end, and learning more about tea culture and tea people.
Just like wine has well-educated and discerning sippers, Fritts has connected himself with expert tea-lovers. The industry term for his finished product is California wild-crafted artisan tea, and it can sell for $1,000 a pound.
He knows this means his tea will never sell in mainstream stores, which is why he targets high-end restaurants in San Francisco. He has one customer now, which holds reservation-only multi-course meals, which can include specialty tea.
Tea journey
The idea to start a tea farm evolved somewhat out of happenstance. Fritts had worked in horticulture for 35 years, and lived in Paradise for more than 40 years. When he worked at Mendon’s Nursery, owner Jerry Mendon ordered some tea plants.
Tea plants are Camellia sinensis, originally grown in China. Fritts liked the plants. They are fragrant and grow well in the foothills.
It was about this time he found out he had Lyme disease.
That’s when life changed. His health caused him to slow down. Sometimes he’ll feel fine, then for no particular reason, he’ll be down again, without energy.
Fritts had always worked hard, and slowing down was an adjustment.
He found that tending tea plants at his home worked. If he got tired he could go inside and take a nap. The tea energized him. He learned more about tea cultivation and culture, and planted more plants.
Cultivation
Over the past several years he has learned how to best grow the tea plants in his particular climate. He filters the water he uses. Having chemicals in water could alter the flavor of the finished product, he explained. He also allows the native plants to grow in between his tea plants. He’ll knock the weeds down with a weed whacker, but sees the value of the plants to conserve soil moisture.
Harvest
He has also learned how to harvest and process the tea leaves, using ancient techniques. This includes picking only the newest leaves, which keeps the trees small. Normally the trees might grow up to eight feet tall, he said.
The leaves are gathered by hand and allowed to dry for a few days. Next, he’ll light a fire and continue to dry and roll the leaves in a wok.
The plant used for tea is always the same, Camellia sinensis. The processing is what makes the tea a green, black, white or oolong.
His method of producing tea ends with a tea that is closet to oolong, he said.
The leaves are allowed to wilt to a certain point and then rolled to release the tannins, he said.
So far, people have said they really like his tea, although Fritts said he still has a lot to learn.
He’s also experimenting with virgin tea blossoms. He harvests the blossoms before they fall and before the bees have a chance to steal the nectar. The result is a subtle tea with a sweet nectar aftertaste.
Presentation
Just as there are elegant protocols for serving wine, there are several rituals for serving tea. A gong fu tea ceremony involves exact steps to bring out the most of the flavors in tea. His long-term plans include having a specialty tea tasting room and share some of this ritual with others.
His intention is to produce tea in “an ancient way,” that includes having his heart involved as he grows and harvest the leave. “I know it produces a quality you can’t get from using a machine,” he said.
I plan to write more on uncommon tea origins like this in the near future
Reference
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