The 2025 spring Tea is now hitting the market. On March 20, the Vernal Equinox, a group of industry professionals from all over the country had the following exchange in the “Tea Industry Management Review” WeChat group. The main topic revolved around “gilded teas.”
What exactly are “gilded teas”? After reading the following excerpted conversation, you will have a good idea.
In transcribing the conversation, we have omitted the names of the speakers and merged some comments while not altering their meaning. Given that this was casual chat within a group, we have not corrected any typos or informal language. All comments represent the personal views of the speakers and do not reflect the opinion of “Tea Industry Management Review.” This transcription is intended for record-keeping and sharing purposes only.
March 21, 2025
Group Member 1: The spring tea market is bustling right now. I wonder what everyone's experiences are like in different tea regions compared to previous years?
Group Member 2: One word: expensive.
Group Member 3: Indeed it is expensive, but it will only get more so. There are also very affordable options—it depends on consumer choice and purchasing power.
Group Member 1: Early spring tea is naturally pricey.
Group Member 4: It's also because of the pandemic, which has restricted movement, preventing tea pickers from entering certain areas. Many farmers have been picking the tea themselves, leading to insufficient labor and a drop in production as they couldn't keep up with the harvest.
Group Member 1: Which tea region is experiencing this?
Group Member 4: Biluochun and Anji White Tea. My friends have tea mountains in these regions, so I have more information about them. For Biluochun, the price for tea from outside the region was around 500 last year, but now it's 700-900.
Group Member 1: Biluochun tea from outside the region? What does that mean?
Group Member 4: It means there's a supply shortage, so they're cutting costs… [facepalm]
Group Member 5: In the West Lake Longjing region, prices this year are similar to previous years, but because of few tourists, the higher prices make it even harder to sell.
Group Member 6: In past years, cunning traders would send tea from other regions to the original place of origin, removing shipping labels before resending it to prove its authenticity. Lishui's “Longjing” would be shipped via SF Express from Hangzhou. The people of Yongde swear by the authenticity of their Yiwu large trees and Laobanzhang, speaking with such conviction that it leaves no room for doubt.
Group Member 4: This phenomenon seems to occur in every region.
Group Member 7: Fresh leaves from Xinchang are transported to Hangzhou factories for processing.
Group Member 1: (Is this phenomenon) common?
Group Member 7: I've witnessed it firsthand. Whether it's isolated cases or widespread, I haven't conducted any research.
Group Member 8: I've seen individual cases multiple times.
Group Member 1: Dafo goes to Lingyin to be gilded.
Group Member 9: Not from Sichuan, at least they're relatively honest.
Group Member 10: Ha ha, that's because Sichuan is too obvious.
Group Member 1: In Sichuan, they just flatten the tea; they wouldn't transport fresh leaves across great distances.
Group Member 4: Today, Fuding has reportedly cracked down on tea from outside the region.
Group Member 6: Fuding has always turned a blind eye to fakery, so it's easy to call them out.
Group Member 11: @Group Member 4 You must have seen this on Douyin.
Group Member 4: Yes. @Group Member 11
Group Member 12: There is an abundance of Biluochun tea this year, and prices for some grades have slightly decreased. In my case, the temperatures were low recently, but then suddenly rose, causing the tea to grow too quickly, making it difficult to harvest in time, resulting in a slightly inferior appearance, and thus a slight decrease in price. I work with experienced tea producers who are reliable, ensuring the quality of the tea. I'm sharing this detailed and specific local information with my peers. @Group Member 4
Group Member 4: Depending on the grade, that could be possible.
Group Member 13: A lot of people came from Fuding to Ya'an recently. [facepalm][facepalm]
Group Member 14: Ya'an has Danxia landforms and high altitude, making the tea leaves of better quality.
Group Member 1: With such a big difference in price, how can they resist coming? @Group Member 13
Group Member 15: Are they buying Silver needles? [grinning] @Group Member 13
Group Member 13: Usually, they buy silver needles. @Group Member 15
Group Member 13: Yes, the price difference is several times greater. @Group Member 1
Group Member 16: Why do you always tell the truth? Does the industry need someone like you? Can you change the situation? Ha ha ha! Be careful not to get blacklisted. @Group Member 13
Group Member 13: Ya'an: national Tea processing base, everyone knows! What's there to fear!
Group Member 17: I've been observing and decided to chime in today. Every year during the New Year period, masters from Xinyang go to Sichuan, and once the tea here is harvested, they start selling it. The quality is excellent! Some old Xinyang tea makers say that adding one-fifth Xinyang Maojian to Sichuan Maojian makes it indistinguishable.
Group Member 18: Selling tea from other regions isn't necessarily a bad thing. The key is not to pass it off as local tea. Few are bold enough to openly admit they're selling Sichuan Maojian (in Hefei, Anhui), for example.
Group Member 19: Why isn't anyone regulating the sale of fake tea online? While Longjing and Anji tea haven't even been picked yet, Sichuan and Guizhou tea is already flooding the market. When I try to explain this to customers, they don't listen and accuse me of selling fake, overpriced tea. Many people cave under reality.
Group Member 20: No one regulates it offline either.
Group Member 17: That's because there's profit in selling Sichuan Maojian as Xinyang Maojian. If they admitted it was Sichuan Maojian, who would care?
Group Member 1: Doesn't that make it “Faith Maojian”? Truth becomes fiction, and fiction becomes truth!
Group Member 12: For those of us who sincerely sell products, how do you address this issue?
Group Member 17: Some people in Xinyang have suggested being transparent about it, saying something like: how is Xinyang's Shiluhe District Maojian? How about Maojian from outside Shiluhe District? How about Maojian from outside Xinyang? Drawing a line would make it easier for everyone to operate, but this would require official intervention.
Group Member 16: Why? Reality is that everyone believes they're drinking authentic tea.
Group Member 19: (“Tea Industry Management Review”) should publish an article, and we can share it.
Group Member 13: I know that Ya'an produces famous teas from all over the country: Biluochun, West Lake Longjing, Xinyang Maojian, Huangshan Maofeng, Lushan Yunwu, Duyun Maojian, and so on.
Group Member 16: You know too much! Ya'an is fertile.
Group Member 13: I've tasted almost every nationally renowned tea processed in Ya'an.
Group Member 16: You're still safe, so it can't be toxic. You can drink it. @Group