Time for the Teabuyer tutorial of this blog. Procuring tea is different from curation but goes hand in hand. You see, many aspirants think it’s just showing up to the farm with cash. Other foreign teabuyers rely on some business middlemen to get the goods for them with the belief that 1. The prices are accurate 2. Really are from the mountain peak or wherever it is, that they say it is.
There is no such thing as honest dealings in Chinese culture, even in tea, UNLESS certain conditions apply: 1. Are you related to the farmer/producer? 2. Are you related to someone who is related to the farmer/producer? 3. Are you a good friend of someone related to the farmer/producer, and if so, do you then know how to do the following: 1. Show true appreciation for their craft? They’ll test you when you first show up, and the tests get more difficult each time you come, so you have to already have the following: 1. Do you have a discerning palate, particularly for their type of tea? If not then immediately they will save the good stuff for those who can tell. Makes sense? 2. Do you know what the right price is? If not, why should they give you the right price? Are you related to them? 3. Are you knowledgeable enough to provide some valuable insights and exchange for their quest for knowledge ? They respect other true professionals.
2. Do you know which is their favorite kid and show up with the right gifts?
3. Do you know who the mom is and take a flattering photo so she’s happy?
Aside from having palate, industry knowledge, understanding cultural nuance, speaking the language, having a local as a close friend, and knowing how it functions all around, you have to display an indepth knowledge of their region without the slightest arrogance or racism (if you are not Chinese). Then, you have to ask the indepth questions no one else cares enough to ask.
In short, being a good tea buyer just means being sensitive, knowledgeable, and humble, the age old Confucian values.
Otherwise you get crappy tea and overpaid for it, that’s all. Or you get mass produced tea and you don’t care.
But I digress with too much information….
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