WHILE much of their farming lives have been dedicated to beef cattle, Ron and Maria Kemp have now bid farewell to them and said konnichiwa to a new industry.
The Kemps are WA’s only green tea growers and processors and it’s something they have been working towards since 2007, which was when they planted their first crop of green tea on their Northcliffe property.
Their 150 hectare-farm is now dedicated to growing avocadoes and green tea, with 4ha of green tea now yielding them two tonnes of tea annually.
They are processing on-site and producing both pyramid infuser tea bags and loose leaf Sencha green tea, under their brand of Southern Forest Green Tea.
It has been, and continues to be, very much a labour of love for Ron and Maria, who do all the work themselves.
When the Department of Agriculture and Food WA began growing green tea in Manjimup more than a decade ago, the Kemps took great interest and saw a lot of potential in the new crop.
They decided to plant their own crop, irrigated using overhead sprinklers, with the idea of processing through a central point in Manjimup, as it was thought that the local industry would grow enough to support such a facility.
When that didn’t eventuate, Ron and Maria were still determined to make it work and invested in their own processing facility to steam, roll and dry the tea for packaging into tea bags or in loose leaf packs.
“There has been a lot of trial and error for us, but this climate is really well-suited to growing green tea,” Ron admitted.
“Weeds were a big problem for us initially, especially when you have to pull the weeds as we don’t use any pesticides or herbicides.
“It’s just 100 per cent green tea.”
Two varieties of green tea were sown using a cauliflower planter, two rows at a time, half a metre apart and planted diagonally.
While their initial crop was planted in 2007 and plants are generally ready for harvesting five months later, Ron said they didn’t actually harvest their first crop until 2013.
They sourced their processing plant and harvester from Japan, a tea bagging machine from South Korea and took time to get it right.
“It took us a few seasons to get the hang of using it all,” Ron said.
“The harvester runs on tracks and it’s a very precise machine, with the ability to drop the blade by as little as one millimetre.
“The machines are very technical and must all be done correctly otherwise it impacts the taste of the tea.”
These days, the Kemps harvest every two weeks and only take the top three leaves of each plant to ensure they get the best flavour.
Subsequently, they harvest six to eight times per season, with the harvested leaves processed within an hour of being picked.
While they currently offer tea bags and loose leaf tea, Ron said they were hoping to soon start producing green tea powder as well as some blends.
“All our tea is steamed and it’s important to get it processed as soon as possible, as it really impacts the flavour and it also makes sure antioxidants aren’t lost during the process,” he said.
“I would describe our tea as being smooth and soft in flavour, it’s not overpowering as some green teas can be.”
Green tea is said to have many health benefits, including being beneficial for weight loss, prevention of tooth decay and general health and well-being.
Ron said so far they had been marketing their Southern Forests Sencha Green Tea predominantly online, with some stockists in Pemberton, Northcliffe and Donnybrook.
Interest is quickly building though, with strong interest from cafes and stores throughout the Great Southern and South West.
Visitors can also tour the Kemp’s farm three times a week through Unearthed Pemberton.
“We’ve had good feedback from our customers so far, we had a visitor the other day who wanted to purchase a year’s supply,” he said.
“Because we’re so busy on the farm and doing it all ourselves, it can be tricky to get out and market but it’s certainly starting to roll in.
“It’s very hard work but we’re getting there.”
