About Tea Farm & Our Mission
Where the world meets the finest Teas & Tisanes.
Created with love in Traverse City Michigan. Enjoyed everywhere.
Established in late December 2003, Light of Day Organic Farm and Tea Shop is a small woman-owned business in Northern Michigan, on the Leelanau peninsula, just 8 miles West of historic downtown Traverse City. We are just a few miles from Lake Michigan in all directions, and are on the direct route (M-72 West) to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Our address is: 3502 E. Traverse Hwy. Traverse City, Michigan.
Our Mission Statement
Our mission is to grow and produce the healthiest and highest quality products which nurture and balance hearts, minds and bodies through the practice of Biodynamic agriculture. At our core, is the absolute reverence for, and wonder of, every created thing. We are dedicated to enlivening, renewing and revitalizing the Earth by respecting its natural resources, cycles and life-carrying rhythms.
Welcome Farm Video
Please enjoy this short welcome video NOWto learn about the only BOTH Certified USDA Organic & Demeter Certified Biodynamic Tea Farm in N. America!
Our Farm and Production
Light of Day Organics is a rare treasure as North America's only dual-certified USDA Organic and Demeter Biodynamic Tea Farm. Yes, that's right, we're growing the tropical species Camellia sinensis, commonly known as "tea", way out of its natural agricultural zone.
Our exceptionally high-quality botanicals are hand-harvested, dried in our licensed commercial farm kitchen, and packaged with great care by people who live here. We produce our private recipe teas in hand-blended small batches to promote consistency, to maximize freshness and with the intention of offering them to you in their most pristine state so that you may enjoy the maximal nutritive benefits as Mother Nature intended.
These two very active working farms and two Michigan Dept. of Agriculture-licensed commercial production kitchens are where all the magic happens! This is where the hundreds of ingredients (grown each year from the heirloom seeds we collect on site and harvest by hand) are processed (dried, shaped, blended) and then packaged with great care. Light of Day Organic Farm here in Traverse City is the direct and exclusive source of our hand-crafted offerings.
M-72 divides our farms. Both parcels of land (12.29 acres/ 42.36 acres) and are facilities are audited annually by MDA, FDA, USDA, and Demeter Biodynamic. A product audit is conducted, labels and website are reviewed by the inspectors for accuracy and Organic/Biodynamic compliance. Soils, fertility, water quality, botanicals are monitored and sent for testing.
We live here, have raised our children and animals here. We feel a deep connection to this place and all beings who inhabit this land. We are committed and highly invested in maintaining this pristine land that we have the pleasure and honor to steward. The succession plan ensures that Light of Day Organic Teas will live on and on. This has been the most meaningful work of our lives.
Certifications and Process
Here at Light of Day Organics®, we believe in authenticity! This means supporting local and foreign farmers through third-party verified (which includes annual audits, soil, water and product testing) of fair trade commerce practices, growing Certified USDA Organic and Demeter Certified Biodynamic® crops and when necessary, outsourcing only 100% Certified Organic and Biodynamic® agricultural commodities (spices, seeds, rare barks, specialty teas, etc.- if we cannot grow enough of them ourselves here in Michigan). Our products are Organic, Biodynamic Gluten-free, Non-GMO, Kosher compliant, and we process in our facility that only processes our organic ingredients (so no chance of contamination by dairy, nuts, gluten, etc.). We process and package only our products in our farm kitchen.
Conscientious Packaging
We believe in presenting these products in their most natural, loose form. They have been packaged in lovely, domestically-manufactured, polished silver tins to protect them from the elements. We use a local designer, and local printer for soy-based ink labels and other packaging needs using Earth-friendly sustainable materials. We hand blend to completion in small batches, then package and label our teas right here in our farm kitchen.
Founding Director/ Owner
Light of Day Organics, LLC was founded by a Traverse City Mom named Angela Macke in 2003. Her background in Holistic health, as both a Registered Nurse, Educator, and Horticulturalist, plus her own positive experience utilizing gentle, natural rhythms to restore balance in her own life as she successfully manages an auto-immune disease she was diagnosed with decades ago, plays an integral role in the creation of each and every blend of Tea. Angela holds a deep belief that a holistic approach is the most effective way to restore optimal health and a sense of well being. Helping her customers to create healthy lifestyle habits that support the prevention of illness and increase overall vitality and passion for life is Angela’s intention as she continues to tend to her farms, family, friends and customers.
Quality of Product / Quality of Life
We wanted to make sure that taste wasn’t the only thing to feel good about. Ensuring the highest quality of tea for you and life for those who bring it to us is part of our mission. We honor all of those involved in bringing this extremely labor-intensive crop from the fields to our cup by paying everyone a proper living wage and encouraging the spiritual sacredness of the family unit and community with time off from work to recharge and to play in this beautiful area that we are blessed to call “home”.
It is Light of Day’s sincere intention that you may enjoy balance and reach your full potential as a human being! We want everyone to enjoy superb health, inner peace, joyfulness, and be on a well-lit path that will benefit the greater good with all that you do. We hope that you will discover, (and hopefully learn to cherish), the ancient and life-giving ritual of cha do "the way of tea" and come to know the benefits that "having a good spot of tea" can provide.
For all of us here at Light of Day, tea is so more than an iced beverage to soothe your thirst in the Summertime or to comfort your sore throat in the Wintertime. We have come to appreciate that the commitment to daily self-care by taking time out to enjoy tea is a representative of the commitment and conscious choice to live simply and to live each day with wonder and deep reverence for every created thing.
We really appreciate you taking the time to visit us on our website and hope that you enjoyed learning more about us!
Thank you.