Huang Shenghui, an inheritor of the Wuyi Rock Tea-making technique in eastern China's Fujian province, has seen his business, especially tea exports, grow in recent years.
He now sells Wuyi Rock tea, a type of oolong tea, to 10 countries including Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Britain, the United States, and Australia.
Typically, the production of Wuyi Rock Tea requires complex procedure and hard work. After plucking, the tea leaves will go through "withering" to lose water. Then the leaves will be shaken for a few times to produce fermentation to some extent. After the procedure of frying, rolling, and baking, the Wuyi Rock Tea can be packed and sold in the market. The tea is half-fermented, thus it has both the scent of green tea and the mellow taste of black tea.
Farmers pluck tea leaves in the field in Fujian province. /VCG Photo
Huang's newfound success all started nearly two decades ago when he went to Kuala Lumpur with 30 kilograms of tea in 2001. The Rock Tea he brought turned out to be popular in Malaysia and was soon sold out. "I got my first bucket of gold, and more importantly, I found a new market," he said.
BAMA Holding Group Company Limited, a tea company based in Fujian, has also seen increased tea export in recent years.
"The company's foreign trade turnover has been increasing, with our tea gradually entering the high-end markets in Southeast Asian and European countries as well as the United States," said Wang Wenji, the company's general manager.
"We've only just come to realize that many foreigners are, in fact, interested in Chinese tea and its culture," he said.
A traditional set of teaware in China. /VCG Photo
In order to cater to the overseas market, Chunlun, another tea company in Fujian, developed jasmine green tea powder which has also gained popularity.
Jasmine tea is a kind of scented tea usually using green tea as its base. It is produced in many provinces in China, including Fujian, Zhejiang, and Sichuan. It has been the most well-known tea type for China.
"Last year, we had a trade volume of over 5 million yuan (727,220 US dollars) from selling jasmine green tea powder abroad," said Fu Tianfu with the company.
"Jasmine green tea is a not a newcomer to the Maritime Silk Road; it was the tea that the Chinese explorer Zheng He brought with him on his expeditions 600 years ago," he said.
Workers arrange tea leaves in a modernized workshop in Hubei province, October 11, 2018. /VCG Photo
"The Belt and Road Initiative has brought opportunities for us to sell jasmine green tea to the world," he added. According to Fu, the company has set up shops in Russia, France, and Switzerland.
Since May 2016, with support from the Fujian provincial government, tea promotion activities have been held in European and Southeast Asian countries. Statistics show that the province's tea export reached 20,000 tonnes and was worth 240 million dollars last year.
According to the China Tea Marketing Association (CTMA), it is estimated that China's tea export will exceed 330,000 tonnes, with an export trade volume of about 1.5 billion dollars in 2018.
"We hope that more and more Chinese tea companies can enter the market overseas and well present Chinese tea culture and that the charm of Chinese tea can win the heart of the world," said Wang Qing, CTMA president.
(Top Photo: Kuang Mingru, a young inheritor of Lao Shan Tea-making, examines tea leaves. /VCG Photo)