Paddy Stephens

Paddy Stephens is a freelance journalist currently based in Kent. He writes mostly about tech and China for The Economist, The Wire China, and the Sinification newsletter.

Can Kent’s hop industry survive?

There is something quintessentially English about hop fields. Rows of ten foot wooden stakes rise from the grass, perhaps three feet apart, holding up a network of wires. In the summer, hops grow up these wires like vines, forming a fragrant, uneven wall of green shades: darker leaves with soft lime-green cones. The industry has