Let’s start with the hot topic of Panda Dung tea. Okay, this drink is not actually Panda Dung itself; you are not drinking it, but you are drinking tea that has been fertilized with Panda Dung. The idea behind this is that pandas are constantly eating bamboo and do not absorb most of the nutrients from it, so these are passed on when the panda goes to the bathroom.
This means that the plants are fertilized with nutrient-rich fertilizers and therefore the tea will apparently be of better quality. It currently sells for £ 2,200 for 50g, Wow !! That is an expensive drink !! An Yanshi, the man behind Panda Dung tea says his tea is organic and smooth, but is it really worth £ 130 per cup of loose tea?
Many of the more expensive teas are Chinese tea and they are not normally made available to the public for purchase. Most of these teas as authentic Long jing dragonwell from West Lake Hangzhou is only available to Chinese government officials. This tea would fetch hundreds of thousands of pounds at auction.
Da Hong Pao, another famous Chinese tea (a Dark Oolong) is reported to be one of the most expensive teas in the world. The original Da Hong Pao trees (also known as Big Red Robe) are 350 years old and can sometimes only produce 100g of tea per year. Similarly, with the authentic Long Jing Dragonwell from West Lake Hangzhou, the original Da Hong Pao is normally only made available to Chinese government officials, but on all three occasions it was made available to the public at auction, the original Da Hong Pao prices have been incredible.
In 2004, the Da Hong Pao loose leaf sold for $ 21,000 for approximately 20g. That must be the most expensive Chinese tea if it isn’t the loose leaf tea out there!
Setting the loose tea aside for a minute, take a look at the most expensive tea bag in the world. It must be this diamond encrusted PG Tips bag they made to celebrate their 75th birthday – the single tea bag cost around £ 75,000. Of course, that was less about the quality of the blades and more about the actual diamonds that covered the bag!
Other expensive teas include Chinese Oolong, Tie Guan Yin, and of course the champagne from teas – Darjeeling!
Still, nothing is going to beat Da Hong Pao – I wonder how much each sip of that tea will turn out to be.