Excellence in Tea Manufacturing: From Bush to Cup

Responses

1. 

   Nanelyn July 25, 2025

   So pleased to start this course. Thank you.

2. 

   Nanelyn April 21, 2026

   This is from 8.3 and the “points to ponder”
   1. Three Ways I Reduce the Impact of Climate Change

   I don’t pretend I can control the climate. I can’t. What I can do is build a system that doesn’t fall apart every time the weather shifts. For me, that starts with the soil. I am constantly adding organic matter—compost, prunings, anything that feeds life back into the ground—because that’s what gives me resilience. Good soil holds water when it rains too much and releases it when it doesn’t. That alone solves more problems than most inputs ever will.

   The second thing I pay attention to is microclimate. I don’t just plant tea—I think about what’s happening around it. Where is the wind coming from? Where is the harsh afternoon sun? Shade, trees, and even the way I space and prune my rows all play into that. I’ve learned that a few degrees of protection can make the difference between stress and steady growth.

   And then there’s water. Not just irrigation—I’m not interested in chasing plants around with a hose forever. I’m working toward holding water where it falls. That means slowing it down, letting it soak in, and building a system that works with the land instead of constantly fighting it. Climate change shows up as inconsistency. My job is to build consistency underneath it.

   2. Can I Reduce Fertilizer Without Losing Yield?

   OK, here’s what I’m thinking . Yes—but not by cutting corners. I can’t just use less fertilizer and expect the same results. That’s wishful thinking. What I can do is make the soil more efficient so it needs less help.

   I pay attention to pH first, because if that’s off, nothing else works the way it should. Then I focus on organic carbon—because living soil feeds plants in a way a bag never will. And calcium matters more than most people realize. When calcium is balanced, nutrients actually move into the plant instead of sitting there unused.

   What I’ve learned is that fertilizer doesn’t create productivity—soil does. Fertilizer just supports it. And if the soil is right, I can use less and still get strong growth and good quality leaf. That matters, because the goal isn’t just yield—it’s producing tea that actually tastes like something worth drinking. 
   By the way, in all transparency, I’m using compost that includes chicken letter and this is the first time ever that I’ve used a 10 – 10–10 in a drench method

   3. Challenges of Mechanisation (and How I Think About It)

   Mechanisation sounds good until you try to apply it to a real farm. Tea plants don’t grow in perfect rows unless you make them. Heights vary, spacing drifts, and terrain has its own opinion about how things should be done. Machines don’t adjust well to that.

   So the issue isn’t the machine—it’s the system underneath it.

   If I want any level of mechanisation, I have to start by making the field more uniform. That means consistent pruning, maintaining a clear table height, and keeping rows accessible. Otherwise, I end up fighting the equipment instead of benefiting from it.

   I’m not interested in jumping straight to full mechanised harvesting anyway. That’s not where my quality is. But I am interested in tools that assist—things that reduce strain, improve speed, and make the work more sustainable for the people doing it. Because at the end of the day, the quality of the leaf still matters, and hand-plucked tea carries a level of precision that machines haven’t fully matched yet .

   4. Three Electronic Measurements I Would Prioritize

   I don’t need ten sensors. But I mightneed the right three.

   First is soil moisture, because water drives everything. Too much or too little, and I’m either stressing the plant or wasting time and resources. Knowing what’s actually happening below the surface keeps me from guessing.

   Second is temperature and humidity. That affects how fast the plants grow, how quickly leaves expand, and even how I handle processing once the leaf is picked. It connects field conditions directly to what happens in the cup.

   Third is leaf weight—fresh and dry. That’s the bridge between the field and the finished product. If I don’t track that, I don’t really know what my yield is or how efficient my process is. And if I don’t know that, I’m just hoping things are working instead of proving that they are.

   Final Reflection

   I’m starting to see that growing tea well isn’t just about growing plants—it’s about building a system that holds together under pressure. Weather changes, labor changes, costs change. That’s not going away.

   What matters is whether my farm becomes more dependent on outside inputs over time, or less.

   If I do this right, I end up with a system that:
   * needs fewer inputs
   * produces more consistent tea
   * and can actually be taught to someone else

   And that last part might matter the most—because if it only works when I’m standing there, it’s not really a system yet.

   Thanks!
   Nanelyn