
Players from all aspects of the tea sector collaborate to help tea growers implement and reap the benefits of regenerative organic farming methods. Photo credit: Tea Rebellion
Tea production requires less water and produces fewer CO2 emissions than coffee. Yet, the industry has fallen far behind coffee when it comes to sustainable and regenerative farming practices. A group of passionate tea professionals led by Annabel Kalmar from Tea Rebellion is determined to help accelerate the adoption and commercial benefits of regenerative organic tea farming practices and move the tea sector closer towards net carbon and net nature positivity.
The tea industry is more fragmented than coffee, making centralized sustainability actions difficult. It’s also a perennial that grows in remote tropical locations, while most regenerative farming innovations focus on annuals and crop rotation. Its smallholder farmers also struggle to meet all of the expensive bureaucratic requirements for organic, Fair Trade, and Rainforest Alliance certifications. However, coffee and cacao, both tropical perennials grown by smallholders, have managed to make and implement several regenerative farming advancements over the past decade.
Organic vs. Regenerative Farming
There are multiple definitions for regenerative farming, and the team at Tea Rebellion states that many tea farmers currently use some regenerative methods. Growers that farm organically already forgo chemical fertilizers and return organic matter to the soil. Some also plant shade trees and abstain from tilling the land. However, according to Annabel Kalmar, the main difference between organic and regenerative farming is regenerative’s “active focus on improving soil health and ecosystem resilience.”
Enhancing soil health and improving organic soil matter also increases carbon sequestering, which helps reduce carbon emissions. Unfortunately, the tea industry lacks large-scale data and evidence-gathering systems necessary for establishing the baselines required to apply for carbon credits and regenerative organic certification.
This is where the Regenerative Tea Farming Actions Project steps in.
The Project’s Mission
“There are two goals,” explains Kalmar. “One is to accelerate the adoption of regenerative practices. To really help tea farmers share properly, help farmers pilot, help educate, and help farmers connect…helping people adopt practices they might not have thought about but also helping them share what works on their farms—that’s the pure agronomic part of it.”
The project aims to bring together tea industry professionals from all aspects of the value chain to collaborate and exchange information. “We want to ensure that information about what works for specific places in the West is adapted for perennials in the tropics,” continues Kalmar. “Unfortunately, we no longer have extension services, as we did 20 years ago in agriculture. They’re mostly gone. So farmers are facing private sector companies who want to sell them agrochemicals but don’t always have access to a knowledge base that advises them independently of the sellers.”
Educating and sharing recommended methods while integrating actual farmer experiences is integral for accelerating regenerative practices. Next, measurement and data collection systems need to be developed. Third-party specialists in climate and nature measurement must also be brought in to ensure accurate documentation. That way, the finance sector, particularly sustainability or green startup providers interested in making voluntary carbon and nature payments, can become involved.
Kalmar adds, “The second goal is the commercial aspect. To reward the farmers for using regenerative practices. One way might be through certification because you're recognized for having that status. Another way might be to remain uncertified but still get a reward in terms of the price, and a third way might be to get carbon neutral/biodiversity ecosystem credits. It depends on what works best for each farmer.”

The project embraces innovation and continuous learning. A more accessible phased or ‘maturity’ approach lowers the barrier to entry and makes it easier for farmers to ease into the regenerative system. Photo credit: Tea Rebellion
“Agriculture is always seen as a problem when it comes to emissions,” says Kalmar. “It’s a problem for biodiversity because, of course, it’s the main driver for destroying and eroding natural land. The aim is to shift that. To become a net carbon sink and a net biodiversity contributor through how we do things with tea. That’s the global aspiration.”