China has many types of tea, and some famous tea varieties are now widely cultivated, making it difficult to label them as true or false. For example, Longjing tea is grown as close to Guangzhou as Wengyuan, where tea farmers from Zhejiang have contracted tea mountains to plant it. Another example is Tie Guan Yin, which is now grown in counties surrounding Anxi. When these areas plant the original cultivar and use the original production process, the resulting tea cannot be called fake Longjing or fake Tie Guan Yin. When the national standard for Pu'er was formulated, the mere phrase "produced in Yunnan" sparked fierce debate due to the enormous interests involved.

Jin Jun Mei is different. It originated from the whims of some tea connoisseurs, with its original variety being Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, but the picking requirement changed to bud tips. The rise of Jin Jun Mei has only been in the last three to five years. Its production area yield is extremely low, and its quality is unquestionable, so I believe a price of ten to twenty thousand is actually normal. What is abnormal is the market's reaction. Jin Jun Mei is actually unsuitable for ordinary tea merchants to use for business because of its high purchase price and slow sales. Attracted by the huge price difference, the phenomenon of using tea buds from other regions to make black tea and pass it off as Jin Jun Mei has emerged. This is not unique to China; it happens all over the world.

The problem is that the raw material for Jin Jun Mei—Tongmu Cai Cha—is not cultivated in every production area. The geographical and climatic conditions of Tongmu Guan cannot be replicated. The so-called Jin Jun Mei produced elsewhere cannot compare to the original in terms of taste or quality. In this situation, I certainly have to say it is fake. In my view, there are only two types of Jin Jun Mei: one is real, and all others are fake. There is no such thing as grades.