LED lighting tested for indoor tea cultivation
Environmentally friendly LED lights are being tested to grow tea indoors, a method that may pave the way for indoor farming beyond the usual tea growing regions in Asia and Africa. Tea requires specific growing conditions as far as climate and soil is concerned, but light remains the essential ingredient. A farmer in Japan has been toying with LED lights to find the right light spectrum to grow tea commercially, both in terms of quantity and quality. Until now, the leaves are used for food and not brewing, but he hopes to compete with traditional growers soon. This novel method may be particularly interesting to expand tea cultivation to other regions and to shield harvests from adverse weather conditions.