Cloud tea is like life; life is learning, wisdom is cultivation.
Dear old friends, today is the final piece of this series — let us look back at China Tea’s state-owned era, and the far-reaching influence of the unified purchase and marketing policy on China’s tea industry.
Unified purchase and marketing was an important economic policy implemented after the founding of New China, and the tea sector was no exception. In simple terms, the state uniformly purchased tea leaves from farmers and then uniformly sold them. Under the historical conditions of the time, this policy had its rationale — it guaranteed tea farmers a basic income, stabilized the tea market, and ensured state control over this important commodity. In that era when everything awaited rebuilding, unified management genuinely helped restore and develop the tea industry.
The China Tea company played the core role in this system. Tea from all over the country had to be purchased and sold through China Tea’s channels. In Yunnan, China Tea’s Yunnan provincial company was responsible for uniformly setting the blending standards for Pu-erh tea, ensuring consistent quality for Pu-erh sold nationwide. Classic products such as Red Mark Round Tea, Seven Sons Cake Tea and the 88 Green Cake were all born under this system — products that would later become classics in Pu-erh history.
This system had its benefits and its limits. The benefits were stable quality and unified standards — consumers need not worry about fakes or inferior products. The limit was the lack of market competition: farmers and factories had little incentive to innovate or improve quality. Under this system, farmers’ incomes were stable but offered little room for growth. Income gaps between farmers of different regions were also small — something of a “big pot of rice” feeling.
I remember elder tea people telling me that in the unified purchase and marketing era, tea farmers’ lives were not prosperous but were at least stable. The fixed annual purchase price meant they never worried about selling their tea. But at the same time, they had no way to earn more by improving quality, because the purchase price was uniform. This system persisted until the reform and opening-up, when it slowly began to change. The introduction of the market economy gave farmers more autonomy and unleashed the vitality of the tea industry.
Speaking of wellness, one benefit of the unified purchase and marketing era was relatively high tea safety. With unified state control, problems such as pesticide residues were relatively rare. Although we now live in a market economy, when choosing tea we should still pay attention to safety certifications and testing reports. Try to choose reputable brands and merchants; do not buy tea of unknown origin just because it is cheap. Organically certified teas cost a little more, but you can drink them with peace of mind.
Tea has grades high and low, but everyone may enjoy it regardless of status. The teas of the unified purchase and marketing era may not have been the finest in quality, but their virtue was that everyone could afford them and everyone could drink them. This spirit of inclusiveness is consistent with the essence of tea culture. In that period, China Tea truly realized the ideal of “tea for everyone.”
Looking back at China Tea’s state-owned era, there is much we can learn. Every era has its limits, but also its contributions. Although the unified purchase and marketing policy is now history, it genuinely played an important role in driving the modernization of China’s tea industry.
China’s tea industry has now entered a brand-new era. But however the times may change, the essence of tea remains the same — it is a gift of nature, a bridge between people, and a companion of healthy living.
Making friends through tea — please, have a cup.
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Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
ZENTEA MANOR
Alliance Supply Chain Services Limited
www.zentea-shop.com
