It’s always tea time at Light of Day

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By Ross Boissoneau

Sun contributor

The third story in our series on agritourism and solutions to the farming crisis.

Angela Macke never wanted to be a farmer. “I grew up on a farm and I knew it was hard work,” she says.

So here she is tending to her tea farm, Light of Day. She packages a number of different teas at the Demeter-certified biodynamic organic farm on M-72 west of Traverse City.

What happened to change her mind? Why organic? And what the heck is biodynamic and Demeter anyway? Start with the third: according to Merriam Webster, biodynamic agriculture follows a sustainable, holistic approach which uses only organic, usually locally-sourced, materials for fertilizing and soil conditioning. Biodynamic farming views the farm as a closed, diversified ecosystem. Demeter International is the world’s only certifier of biodynamic farms and products.

As to questions one and two, it all stems from Macke’s initial forays into producing and packaging organic tea. “I didn’t start with the intention of becoming a farmer,” she says. But she had questions about the quality of the organic ingredients she was sourcing, and sent examples to the food labs at the University of Nebraska and Michigan State University. “It came back positive for pesticide residue. I wanted clean ingredients.” So, back to the farm. To provide and promote the tea she wanted to package and sell, she didn’t see any other choice.

Today, 21 years after Light of Day opened, its multiple hoop houses are home to thousands of tea plants, and Light of Day offers a dizzying variety of teas with imaginative names: Leelanau Licorice, Happy Spleen Green, Lemony-Ginger Sunshine, Bumble Blossom Oolong, Tulsi Citrus Soother. Macke is a true believer in the healing and restorative properties of tea and is only too happy to explain them all.

The bulk of the products in the teas are produced on the farm. Those few that aren’t are grown by partner farmers and are also certified organic. The ingredients are all dried and packaged in the farm’s commercial kitchen and the farm is inspected and audited annually by the USDA National Organic Program, Demeter Biodynamic International, Michigan Dept. of Agriculture, and the FDA.

Macke has long since embraced the notion of agritourism, though as she says it’s not a new thing, pointing to the longstanding U-pick farms that dot the countryside, offering everything from apples to berries to flowers. “Wine tastings, cider mills—people have been doing that for a while.”

Yet another thing Macke originally wasn’t interested in, besides farming in general, was the notion of hosting onsite sales. “When Light of Day started, I wasn’t going to do retail,” she says. That changed quickly, as those drawn in by the solar panels, yurts and roadside garden wanted to buy the tea then and there.

After all these years she remains driven to improve and innovate. “I keep trying out different things. I’d like to do more events. We’ve had graduation parties but haven’t set up a system” for larger parties, such as weddings or receptions. She mentions tea and wine tastings, live music, farm-to-table dinners, even low-key events like bonfires accompanied by a potluck dinner. One other idea that hasn’t yet come to fruition: Weed dating, as opposed to speed dating, where people could meet for a first date and help do some of the weeding, then enjoy some tea.

Less whimsical and more practically, she’s also—finally—bagging some of her teas so she can compete with those shelves full of tea at grocery stores. She plans to have the first two varieties, Cinnamon and Creamy Earl Grey, available by Christmas, possibly Hummingbird Nectar as well.

While opting to package it in the way most people are familiar with, she says attitudes have changed considerably since she opened Light of Day. “Twenty-one years ago, hardly anyone drank loose leaf tea,” she says. The tea evangelist is no doubt a large part of the reason for the change.

The farm and the business have rebounded since the closures mandated due to the pandemic. She says she now does more business on the three days she’s open than she did before when open five to seven days a week.

Light of Day tea is available at a host of local restaurants, including as Oryana, the Omelette Shoppe and NoBo Market. It’s also found as an ingredient in Bailey’s Farms kombucha, Grocer’s Daughter chocolates and Patricia’s Chocolates of Grand Haven.

Of course, all the varieties are available onsite. Light of Day is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.

Macke also offers tea classes, which include a classroom introduction and tasting as well as a tour of the farm. “That’s our agritourism du jour. People can taste, walk around, come in and shop. See and touch the plant, whatever crops we have in season. A lot of people walk around (the farm) barefoot.

“I’ve been out with shoulder surgery so I’ve been in the shop. People love it. They’re so happy. I didn’t realize how much joy in brought to people. I’m more fired up than a year ago.”