The hype surrounding traditional premium teas is cooling down, and "everyday teas" are making a comeback
During the 2026 spring tea season, multiple production regions faced extreme weather: the core West Lake Longjing area saw output drop by nearly 50%, Fuding White Tea's "Baihao Yinzhen" (Silver Needle) fell by 30%, and Phoenix Dancong production declined by 10%–30%. However, these production cuts did not lead to price hikes; in fact, the price of fresh leaves from the first picking of West Lake Longjing "Longjing 43" dropped by nearly 10%, while prices for Duyun Maojian and Xinyang Maojian fell by approximately 20%. Sales of spring tea gift sets declined by about 15% year-on-year, whereas sales of loose-leaf tea for personal consumption rose by nearly 10%. Ouyang Daokun, Executive Dean of the China Tea Industry Business School, noted that interest is cooling in categories such as first-pickings, teas from niche micro-regions, handmade teas, "master-crafted" teas, and ancient-tree teas, as consumers are no longer willing to pay a premium based on opaque information.
