Sun, soil, rain and beneficial insects — nature is Taka Ino’s primary partner in what he calls "the joy of growing tea."
HEALTH BENEFITS OF DRINKING TEA
Regarded for thousands of years in the East as a key to good health, happiness and wisdom, tea has caught the attention of researchers in the West, who are discovering its many health benefits.
Tea is a name given to a lot of brews, but purists consider only green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea and pu-erh tea the real thing. They are all derived from the Camellia sinensis plant … and contain antioxidants called flavonoids.
The most potent of these, known as ECGC, may help against free radicals that can contribute to cancer, heart disease and clogged arteries.
The more processed the tea leaves, usually the less polyphenol content. Polyphenols include flavonoids. Oolong and black teas are oxidized, so they have lower concentrations of polyphenols than green tea, but their antioxidizing power is still high.
— from www.webmd.com
PREPARING THE PERFECT CUP OF TEA
1. Choose the best-quality tea leaves and water (avoid tap water as it often contains chlorine and fluoride, which affect the flavor of the tea).
2. Bring water to a full boil in a pot or kettle. Black tea brews at the boiling point (see proportions of water to leaves below).
3. For green and oolong tea, cool the boiled water in the kettle to 195 degrees Fahrenheit for oolong and 165 to 195 degrees Fahrenheit for green. Dip a thermometer in the water to ensure the right temperature.
4. Pour the water into a teapot and add the tea leaves. A good estimate is one or two tablespoons of leaves per 8 ounces of water. Add more leaves for a strong tea, less for a weak tea.
5. Steep the tea between one and three minutes. Important: Be careful not to overbrew, as that will release bitter tannins. Also, don’t use plastic containers to boil, cool, brew or serve tea.
6. Serve the tea immediately after steeping it. Food items that go well with tea include mochi, dried fruit and fresh pastries.
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"I didn’t want to replicate modern-day Japanese tea production methods, which develop flavor mostly by using a lot of fertilizer," Ino said. "I want to achieve the natural quality of tea, instead of flavor that is artificially produced. Some traditional tea producers still exist in Japan, but they are disappearing. I would like to revive these vanishing traditions in Hawaii."
Ino and his wife, Kimberly, own and operate Mauna Kea Tea, a certified organic farm in Ahualoa on Hawaii island.
The couple met and fell in love at the University of California, Berkeley, where they were both students in environmental sciences. After they married, they searched for the right place to call home. They were drawn to Ahualoa because of its lushness, cool temperatures and agricultural opportunities, and settled there in 2005.
"It was the right place, tea was the right crop, everything just fell into place," said Ino, a certified Japanese tea instructor who is trained in the cultivation, processing, preparation and judging of tea.
Six thousand tea plants cover two of Mauna Kea Tea’s five acres. To cultivate their tea, the Inos use organic fertilizer but no chemical herbicides or pesticides. Plant trimmings go back into the soil as compost.
Steelblue ladybirds, a type of beetle, control the aphid population. Soybeans planted in rows between the rows of tea keep rose beetles off the tea leaves because those bugs prefer soybean leaves.
The tea plants are cut back in the winter, and new growth appears in the spring. Harvesting the tender tips of those young leaves will begin in February, which is very early and unique to tea cultivation in Hawaii.
According to Ino, Ahualoa’s climate allows a year-round growing cycle. Depending on the weather, the vigor of the plants and the timing of the winter trimming, young leaves will appear every two to three months.
The leaves must be processed the same day they’re harvested. "We make green tea by drying the leaves within six hours of being picked to stop oxidation, which turns the leaves brown," Ino said. "If we leave the leaves without drying them, they’ll oxidize; that’s how black tea is made. Oolong tea is partially oxidized."
Mauna Kea Tea sells green and oolong tea. During the annual Open Farm Day (see sidebar), the Inos welcome visitors to tour their farm, sample teas, observe tea-brewing demonstrations and purchase tea ware and accessories.
"We introduced the event to bring people together to enjoy tea with us," Ino said. "Every person who comes has different stories to share about tea — from sipping tea with their grandmother when they were children to the teas they now enjoy at tea parlors where they’re from."
Ino drinks tea five or six times daily, viewing it as a healthful addiction that’s both calming and rejuvenating.
"In Japan a lifestyle devoted to one’s passion is called ‘ikigai,’" he said. "It is something to live for that brings great satisfaction and happiness. Being a tea farmer, I have found harmony with nature and with myself. I have found fulfillment nurturing a beautiful plant and brewing and enjoying the great results. For me tea is ikigai."
Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Sta-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.
If You Go …
MAUNA KEA TEA OPEN FARM DAY
» Address: 46-3870 Old Mamalahoa Highway, Honokaa, Hawaii island, about two miles mauka (toward the mountains) from Tex Drive-In
» Date: Oct. 13
» Admission: Free
» Phone: 775-1171
» Email: info@maunakeatea.com
» Website: www.maunakeatea.com
SCHEDULE
Free farm tour
2 p.m.
Cupping Workshop
9:30 a.m.
$10 per person, children 12 and under are free
Topics will include types of tea and how to cultivate them. Space is limited to 20 participants. Advance reservations are required by phone or email.
HIGHLIGHTS
Also planned are tea tastings and sales of tea plants, tea accessories and Mauna Kea Tea products, including the new Coconut Green Tea.
NOTES
Parking is limited, so carpool if possible. Sturdy shoes, a hat, sunscreen, an umbrella and light rain gear are recommended.
Farm tours can also be scheduled by advance reservation on other days. Cost is $30 per person for two people, $25 per person for three people and $20 per person for four and five people. Ask about rates for groups of six or more. Children ages 6 through 18 are half price, and keiki 5 and under are free.
Mauna Kea Tea is available at fine restaurants, retail stores and the Waimea Homestead Farmers Market on Hawaii island. Mail orders can be placed on the website.
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