'New-style' Chinese tea drinks awe global consumers

Chinese tea is reinventing itself, prompted by the fact that tea and coffee are no longer the only options people turn to while working, relaxing or socializing worldwide.

Once confined to traditional brews, tea is now being blended with milk, fruits and herbs to create inventive flavors that are winning over young consumers and turning these tea-based drinks into a life-style trend.

Fueled by the booming craze for "new-style" Chinese tea drinks, tea producers in East China's Zhejiang province and Southwest China's Yunnan province are seizing the momentum, shifting from bulk leaf exports toward higher-value processing and stronger branding.

Their modern twists on Chinese tea are finding eager audiences overseas, from fruit-infused teas gaining popularity in tea and coffee shops in Southeast Asia, to creative blends making their way into the menus of milk tea stores close to universities in London, Manchester, Paris and Dusseldorf (Germany), and even chilled milk-tea variations appealing to young consumers in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

According to Hangzhou Customs, Zhejiang exported 2.24 billion yuan ($312 million) worth of tea between January and July, up 24.3 percent year-on-year and accounting for 37.2 percent of China's total tea exports during this period, with major markets including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Morocco, Russia and Uzbekistan.

Shengzhou Houtu Tea Co Ltd, a producer and exporter of green tea in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, shipped 5 metric tons of flavored bagged tea to Saudi Arabia in mid-August. The products included blends with ingredients such as ginger, mint, chrysanthemum and lemon.

"We previously focused on bulk green tea exports. As demand for personalized products has grown, exports of new-style Chinese tea raw materials and beverages have been on the rise," said Yuan Junyang, the company's operations director.

Yuan said that drinks such as Longjing (Dragon Well) lattes and matcha lattes are thriving at home and finding markets overseas, presenting the world with a new way to savor the essence of Chinese tea.

From traditional brews to ready-to-drink lines, Lanfangyuan Food Co Ltd, a Huzhou, Zhejiang-based tea beverage producer, is expanding its footprint in overseas markets through innovation. Its export value surged 42.1 percent year-on-year to 20 million yuan in the first seven months.

"We have developed a frozen lemon tea and fruit tea series with distinctive, refreshing flavors. They have successfully entered the United States, European and Southeast Asian markets," said Zhu Yuemin, a manager at the company's overseas business unit.

In mid-August, at the production workshop of Pu'er Zuxiang Highmountain Tea Garden Co Ltd, a tea producer based in Pu'er, Yunnan, workers were busy packaging the latest batch of Pu'er tea cakes bound for France.

These organic tea cakes, labeled in both Chinese and French, will soon cross the seas to appear on the shelves of supermarkets in Paris. It is the company's 15th export shipment of Pu'er tea this year.

"In addition to supplying raw tea leaves for making milk tea to overseas clients, our organic tea has long enjoyed strong sales in the European market. This shipment of organic Pu'er tea cakes — available in 200-gram, 150-gram and 75-gram sizes — was tailored to meet French customer demand," said Duan Liyuan, the company's foreign trade manager.

The packaging integrates both Chinese and French cultural elements and comes with a French language introduction to Pu'er tea culture and a tasting guide, said Duan.

She added that by leveraging tea culture and innovating in brand building, the company is gradually expanding the international presence of Pu'er tea, with its products commanding a price premium of about 20 percent over traditional bagged tea.

Yunnan exported 2,707 tons of tea valued at 49.4 million yuan in the January-July period, reaching 24 countries and regions including Germany, France, Japan and Singapore, said Kunming Customs.