Americans have gone to war over a simple “cuppa” tea.
Coffee? Pfffft.
Hear ye: Our history is steeped in its love of loose-leaf tea. The national obsession over tea calls up our lessons on the Revolutionary War, the 1767 Townshend Act, and the Boston Tea Party.
Maybe you weren’t paying attention to those history lessons in school? Sure, we understand. Just know this: Cumberland County has its own ties to all that rich history. Part of it belongs to Richard and Michelle DeMarco, owners of New Jersey’s first and only tea farm.
The Greenwich Tea Burners Farm was established in 2006. The name pays tribute to an event similar to the Boston Tea Party that happened almost a year later in Greenwich, Cumberland County.
That’s when about 40 young Whigs broke into the cellar of a Tory sympathizer’s home, stealing British tea and burning it in a nearby field. Today, a monument on Ye Greate Street in Greenwich pays tribute to those men and that revolutionary action.
Richard and Michelle DeMarco give a nod to local history at their Greenwich Tea Burners Farm. PHOTOS: DEB EIN
The DeMarcos cultivate and grow tea the hard way: It takes years for one seed to mature. And only then can it be harvested. Each plant, each leaf must be plucked by hand, and the DeMarcos do it themselves with very little help.
It’s tough but rewarding work—and the DeMarcos wouldn’t have it any other way.
“People come to the tea farm all of the time. We have people who come from all over the country,” says Michelle. “We always talk about the (Greenwich) tea action that started here. We tell them how we got started and give them our story. I think people are more tired of commercial (teas) and want to see the real thing.”
“Tea was the equivalent of having gold back then,” adds Richard.
Today, if you’re hoping for a quick cash grab in the tea business, you’d better be patient. Nothing about it moves quickly. From seed, one tea plant takes five years to mature, and that’s not counting the process of turning it into a finished product.
Risky? To say the least. However, the couple’s love of American history and tea is the reason they made the leap.
“I was from Vineland, I grew up there. Rich grew up in Franklinville. Neither (of us) grew up learning of the tea action (in Greenwich),” Michelle said.
In October, the flowers start to bloom on the DeMarco tea bushes. That signals the growing season is done, Michelle says.
“It’s been gratifying to see the results after 19 years of experimenting and losses,” said Richard. “I had no formal training going into this.”
His only “training” took place running the greenhouse at what is now Rowan University. “That opportunity launched me into my love for horticulture.”
Growing tea requires hard work every day, even during the long winter months, when Richard’s work is mostly hammering and repairing and preparing for spring.
The farm’s growing season begins again in May, and runs through October.
On a cold, icy January day, Richard and Michelle escort visitors around the Tea Burners farm. There, on the edge of a dried-up stream, small tea bushes dot the landscape, covered in small green tents.
Tea plants at the Greenwich Tea Burners Farm in various stages of development.
They decided to plant their organic tea seeds in virgin soil, along the side of the riverbed where nothing was ever planted before.
“Doing things naturally is 10 times harder than if you go out and grow it with Miracle-Gro,” Richard says. Instead, to protect the plants, they use a blend of materials such as Listerine and water as well as one other trick.
“A few drops of Dawn (detergent) in a spray bottle. It’s a great way to kill bugs. It’s completely natural and controls other bacterial problems that we have,” Michelle says.
Many people advised the couple against starting the tea farm. They pointed out that tea is mostly grown in more tropical regions. That’s just what Rich needed to hear. He’s the sort of guy that jumps at the chance to prove them all wrong.
“Somebody told me I couldn’t do it. I didn’t set out to be a tea farmer. It just sort of happened,” Richard says. “We are interested in history and both love drinking tea.”
Richard smiles. “All of my achievements came because somebody told me I couldn’t do it.”
As for the future, the couple hopes to make their farm a place where they can teach others, especially the young, about the benefits of eating organically and how to be self-sustaining.
“COVID was a blessing because we were able to stay open,” he says, adding all of their events were outdoors and people were anxious to purchase their teas, especially wellness tea blends.
Growing tea leaves has taught both of them one lesson in particular.
“Patience!” said Richard. “I was the most impatient kid. This has taught me about the long game. Everyone lives for instant gratification. This is not instant gratification. You learn to be patient.”
He learned that when he stumbled and made a bad mistake not to make that same mistake twice.
The oldest bushes on the farm are now in their third generation, with each generation representing five years. “The more generations we get in, the happier I’ll be,” he says.
Michelle also learned to have respect for the tea plants.
“During the summer, what they’re doing is producing new growth…,” she notes. “They need us, and we need them. It’s like a mommy. She has a baby in the oven the whole time and she’s producing all this growth. I’m just really amazed by that.”
All the leaves are gathered by them, and a five-pound bag of leaves is reduced to just a single pound of tea leaves through the process of withering. It’s back-breaking work for a single pound of tea leaves.
“This is a complete passion thing for us,” Michelle says. “We’re not trying to get rich. We want to share a good cuppa tea with people.”
In the spring, the first flush of leaves is a precious gift to the growers.
“We keep it for ourselves,” says Michelle. “That’s our first batch.”
Michelle likens it to a nursing mother’s colostrum, the nutritious first product of a woman’s breast milk.
“It’s all the good stuff. That’s what the plant does for us. It’s all stored in the plant all winter and then the plant pushes out its new leaves. It’s full of good nutrients for our bodies.”
Of all the teas, the DeMarcos love Oolong tea the most. “It’s a nice tea to incorporate different flavors,” she says. “You can do all kinds of stuff, make it fruity,” as well as add many kinds of flavors, from cinnamon to cloves to ginger.
The couple makes sure that used tea leaves are not wasted, but composted, and put back into the plants.
“It’s a pretty awesome circle,” says Richard. “I’m not like a granola-crunching hippie, but I like to keep things all natural. It’s a very neat, niche kind of thing.”
Tips for Drinking Tea
• Don’t add honey to a cup that is more than 90 degrees. If you do, it kills all the good enzymes.
• Don’t microwave your water. Michelle DeMarco: “Actually, the way the microwave breaks down the molecules, it changes how that tea will come out. You also don’t know what temperature you’re getting. A lot of teas, to release the full flavor, need to be at a certain temperature. They need time to release the flavor.” The water heats too unevenly to produce a proper cup of tea.
• Steeping time will vary according to the type of tea. Follow package directions for Tea Burners Tea. Michelle DeMarco: “You want that leaf to have enough time to open and release all the nutrients that are in that leaf. It will vary from tea to tea. White tea, for example, should be about 170 degrees, no higher. Also, black tea should be about 212 degrees.”
• Avoid using chlorinated city water. Instead, use filtered water. Tea is already high in fluoride.
Greenwich Tea Burners Farm: Tastings and Such
Ed Carlotta and Shannon DeAngelis celebrate her birthday with a tea tasting at Greenwich Tea Burners Farm.
Reopening after winter hiatus on January 30, with tea tastings held March through November. (See Community Calendar for February 19 tasting at the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society.)
Individual tea tastings may be booked online for $25 per person. The tasting includes a tour of the farm, a tasting of four specialty brews in the tea cottage as well as tea-infused scones by Blackbird Local in Greenwich. It lasts about two hours. The tour includes a stop in the retail tea house to purchase some of the farm’s specialty blends.
Teas: More than 100 varieties of tea available for sale, including health and wellness, fruit infusions, herbal, seasonal and traditional teas.
The DeMarcos have also produced 12 different varieties of tea that pay tribute to the original members of the Greenwich Tea Burning. The teas are available on their website for sale. A section of the web page pays tribute to the original 24 men.
The farm is available for corporate events, private parties, nonprofit groups and also tea tastings and community events.
1077 Bridgeton Road, Greenwich.
Phone 856-305 4404
greenwichteaburnersteafarmnj.com
