Episode Details

Fertilizer Shock Threatens Tea Quality, Yields, and Costs | International Tea Day Events Expand Across Global Markets | India Pushes Ahead with Contested Tea Auction Mandate

NEWSMAKER – Michael D. Ham, CEO of Wild Orchard Tea

PLUS | Regenerative Farming Begins by Doing Less

Regenerative agriculture has become one of the tea industry’s most discussed concepts, but definitions often remain vague. Producers, traders, and brand owners generally agree that healthier soils and more resilient ecosystems matter. The harder question is what regenerative farming actually looks like in practice on a working tea farm.

For Michael D. Ham, the answer begins with restraint. On Jeju Island in South Korea, Wild Orchard Tea grows tea without irrigation, synthetic fertilizers, or intensive intervention. The objective is not simply sustainability, but long-term biological resilience.

In this SPOTLIGHT conversation, Ham discusses soil microbiology, biodiversity, root depth, and why the tea industry may need to rethink how it measures success beyond short-term yield. | Podlink signup: https://pod.link/1549975153