Zealong Tea Plantation

Tzu-Wang Chen and his son Vincent arrived in the Waikato from Taiwan in the early 90’s to establish a property development business. They noticed that camellias seemed to thrive here with minimal care, and saw that the leaves were similar to oolong tea camellias. They imported seedlings and began to propagate and plant.

Most of the family returned to Taiwan, but Vincent stayed on. Today his Zealong tea plantation is well established with more than 1 million bushes planted on 50 ha. Exports of organically grown and processed oolong tea have had a very favourable reaction from the top end of the international market.

Zealong is the first tea exporter from New Zealand. Others have tried in Nelson and the Wairarapa without much success and for Vincent Chen it has been a long, hard road to get this far. He has had many obstacles to overcome and it has been his determination to realise his dream that has won through.

Camellias grow like weeds in the Waikato. They like acid soils, mild temperatures, high humidity, a wide diurnal temperature variation and regular rainfall; and can tolerate light frosts. The rapid growth of a camellia in a neighbour’s garden was noted by Tzu-Wang Chen and the new leaves of the camellia reminded him of the tea camellias he had seen at home.

Mr Chen realised that in many ways the Waikato’s climate was similar to the highlands and mountain areas of Taiwan where oolong tea is traditionally grown and he resolved to give tea growing a try. Oolong is a prized variety in Taiwan, the best teas commanding prices as high as $15000/kg. At considerable expense, he imported 1,500 oolong cuttings only to have most of them die in quarantine. The surviving ones he planted in his back lawn where they languished for a time.

The family went back to Taiwan but Mr Chen’s son Vincent stayed on. When he moved to a new home he dug out the tea plants and replanted them in well prepared soil where they thrived. He decided to try propagation, and his first attempt was highly successful. Unfortunately that was a fluke, and subsequent attempts were disappointing, but with some expert help he was eventually able to get propagation rates up to an acceptable level. At that point he planted up 3ha at Rototuna on the outskirts of Hamilton.

The first tea they harvested was “undrinkable”, and the advice from Taiwan was that to achieve a good tea you need the right equipment and the services of a “tea master”, and so began the considerable investment in processing equipment and buildings to house it and in imported expertise. It took some time, but by 2005 they achieved tea quality that was as good as some of the better Taiwanese oolongs.

Today, Vincent’s Zealong tea plantation has more than a million bushes and covers almost 50 ha near Gordonton, just north-east of Hamilton. As a property developer he was familiar with re-shaping land and put much effort into providing adequate drainage, water storage and reticulation for the crop. Obtaining resource consents and satisfying the questions of the local authority was slow and frustrating until he invited the mayor, councillors and staff to visit the property. Suddenly the penny dropped, and people realised that this was a serious attempt to grow tea and that it would provide employment and had the potential to attract visitors as well as generate export income.

Apart from climate, another advantage of growing tea in NZ is the lack of pests, diseases and industrial contamination. Overseas, most tea crops require considerable amounts of spraying to combat insects and fungi and residues are also a problem in some countries. In contrast, the only problem to date at Zealong has been aphids, which Vincent deals to in a novel way – sprinkle milk powder around the base of the bushes and the aphids hop off, gorge themselves on the powder and die.

Given those advantages it made sense for Zealong to become an organic producer. Moreover, they have signed up for and been granted ISO 22000 accreditation, a standard that has taken some years and considerable expense to achieve but gives them a distinct advantage in international markets. In Taiwan about half the oolong tea consumed is imported from Vietnam, Thailand and China where standards of quality assurance are unknown and considerable doubt exists as to the purity and safety of their products.

In contrast, Zealong tea is grown in a country that is recognised as being clean and green by Asian consumers, particularly in Japan where they are also aware of the assurances that ISO certification gives – food safety and traceability.

It is early days for Zealong on the international market, but reaction has been very favourable in both blind taste testing and at tea expo’s where the brand is rapidly gaining credibility. Once people taste the tea, their surprise and disbelief evaporates quickly.

The company has also gone to great lengths to help Waikato people and visitors become familiar with the idea of growing tea locally and the work involved in getting the business going. The Camellia Tea House on the property is open four days a week for visitors to come and have high tea and staff make a point of explaining the way the plantation operates and the difficulties and work involved in processing the picked leaves to achieve high quality.

Two-year old bushes propagated from cuttings are planted out in early winter into prepared ground covered in plastic to control weeds. After another two years the first harvest can be made from them.

For much of the year the plantation is managed as a garden with a little pruning and weed control. Irrigation may be necessary in dry periods and frost protection from water spray is used when necessary. Helicopters may also be used for frost protection in the future.

Only approved organic fertilisers and compost are used in modest quantities, but it is unclear at this stage to what extent the existing fertility in the soil is being mined.

On the organic farm Bio-Gro certified compost and GM free guar meal are used as the base fertiliser in winter, and Bio-Gro certified foliar nutrients in summer. For the organic conversion unit, Bio-Gro certified compost and certified foliar nutrients are applied in winter and limited quantities of dried blood in summer. The newly planted block has been fertilised with natural products like soybean meal and dried blood.

This is a specialised task that requires experience and skill. Pickers take the top two leaves and a bud from suitable branches, and they must be cut in such a way that the plant will regrow rapidly. A razor blade attached to one finger is the cutting method of choice.

There are three crops or “seasons” in a year, each 60 days apart. The first is early to mid November, the second in mid January, and the last in March. Each pick takes place over about 20 days, and because most leaves reach the ideal stage around the same time the pickers must work very fast. It is essential for top quality that leaves enter the processing factory as soon as possible after picking, and processing must be completed within 36 hours of harvest. An experienced picker can achieve around 50kg per day and still make good decisions around which leaves to harvest and the best way to cut each one.

Needless to say there are no experienced pickers in NZ, and the company brings in pickers from Taiwan and also has some Cambodian immigrants who are qualified pickers. Some locals are being trained but because there are only 60 days picking in the year they lack the practice to get up to top speed. In Taiwan, picking takes place continuously for most of the year.

Speed is essential. As soon as leaves are picked they start to deteriorate, and the sooner they get to the factory and begin the fermentation and drying processes the better.

This is possibly the most complex and exacting part of the tea production process. In the first 24 hours the fresh leaves are subjected to drying, wetting, roasting and further drying in a series of complex steps. Master Yu, a tea master from Taiwan, flies in to supervise each harvest. He makes on-the-spot processing decisions based on the condition of each lot, which varies with the time of day, the weather on the day and so on. His experience and expertise ensure that despite the variations in day to day plant condition, the final product is of consistent quality with the same flavour and aroma as each of the other lots.

All processing is carried out in hygienic conditions with operators wearing protective clothing and footwear that avoids contamination of the tea. The steps in processing include:

• Sun drying (in an enclosed room)

• Short fermentation and hand blending

• Tumble blending

• Misting with water

• Short fermentation on bamboo trays

• High temperature de-greening to reduce moisture and soften the leaves

• Rolling to develop flavour

• Drying

The final 12 hours involves a series of drying and rolling steps to stabilise and preserve the qualities achieved. The end result is that each leaf and bud set is rolled into a tiny dry ball and is packaged to enhance stability and appearance.

When rehydrated during infusion prior to drinking, the leaf/bud expands and releases aromatic compounds and colour. Unlike standard teabag dunk-and-throw-away procedures, oolong tea is made to be re-infused. Tea pots can be refilled and the flavour changes as more tea is drunk. An alternative developed by Gigi Crawford at Zealong is a specially made tea infusion cup that allows the drinker to lift out the leaves and set them aside until needed for the next cup. Zealong tea made in this way can be infused up to seven times whereas most oolongs are good for only three or four infusions. The difference is said to be due to “Zealong’s thicker, organic leaves that hold more flavour and fragrance”.

Zealong produces oolong tea in three “flavour tones”

• Pure – unroasted green tea

• Aromatic – high temperature roasted for a “clear aroma and taste with a hint of fruit and flowers”.

• Dark – repeated roasting gives “a rich deep taste with a hint of charcoal and no bitterness”.

Vincent’s staff say that many people, including them, have told Vincent that he has been attempting the impossible. Even now that the horticultural and processing problems have been overcome, there is still the marketing hurdle but Vincent is determined to succeed.

He and his staff have achieved much in the relatively short time they have been in the tea business. They have an ISO 22000/HACCP compliant organic product from “Pure New Zealand” that is rated highly by Taiwanese and Japanese buyers. Other growers in Nelson and the Wairarapa have tried and failed, but Zealong has shown that producing high quality oolong tea is possible in New Zealand and has set a high standard for others to follow.

One concern is that some followers may try to piggyback on Zealong’s success, import Asian teas and rebrand them as coming from New Zealand. Others may grow tea here but not reach the same high standard. Vincent is hoping that as the industry develops all players will agree on high standards and maintain New Zealand’s developing reputation for top quality organic tea.

It is certainly not a business for the faint-hearted. The Chen’s total investment in land and buildings is around $20 million and the payoff will be over the long term. In the meantime the venture is providing year-round employment for locals in both plantation maintenance and tourism in the Camellia Tea House.

The novelty of growing tea in New Zealand has not escaped the attention of both the popular and industry media and Zealong is rapidly gaining a reputation in New Zealand, Australia, Asia and North America. The company now has the task of living up to and exceeding the high standards it has set for itself.