Ours was the fifth tourist bus parked under a canopy of giant and old trees in the grounds of a popular souvenir shop in Shenzhen, dubbed as the “Most Competitive and Innovative City in China”.
Shenzhen is one of the recently-renovated urban centers of China and is located along the Hong Kong border.
The city is known, among others, for its electronics manufacturing, tourism, trade, export and shipping industries.
On a three-week vacation in Hong Kong, I was in Shenzhen for a day-long tour. I must admit that although I have visited parts of China three times, that was the first occasion I joined a tour group.
“Welcome,” the young woman by the entrance greeted our group of mixed races. And she continued talking in Chinese, which I presumed as her wishing us to enjoy our souvenir shopping time.
Conscious of the state of my yuan resources, I wanted to buy only one item – Chinese tea. After some minutes of roaming around, I found the shelf and picked up three tin cans of tea.
I was heading to the cashier’s line when a shop staff stopped me. “Oh, I see that you bought our famous tea,| she greeted me in halting English.
“Yes,” I said not realizing I was being baited into a sales strategy.
“You know what? You can get a great discount if you buy a set of teaspoons, because you bought that special tea.”
“Really?” I asked and she led me to a section where various types of teaspoons were displayed.
I picked up a pair of intricately-designed teaspoons feeling good that I got a good two-in-one bargain.
Just around the corner, another lady stopped. “Wow, you are buying our special tea and you also have some teaspoons. If you buy our small teapot, you will have a special price for it.”
And she led me to a corner where I found the small teapot with an ancient dynasty palace design in blue.
The teapot would be a good buy, I told myself as I checked my wallet to know if I had some yuans to spare.
I then nodded to her, indicating my approval of the purchase.
By then, I had come to realize that I had fallen into their marketing traps.
“Sir, you have the teapot now,” the same lady said. “I’d want you to checkout our tea cups for a lower special price.”
“Teacups? Oh, I already bought a set in Hong Kong yesterday,” I replied, this time determined to make her realize that I had enough of their sales ploy.
Two years later, in another trip to Guangzhou, where I attended a conference of Asian educators, I walked into a store to buy t-shirts.
“Sir, you bought t-shirts,” a sales girl approached me but I showed disinterest in her discount offers.
It did not matter anymore if she was offering a traveling bag or a portable cabinet for me to put the t-shirts in.
“Once is enough,” I told myself, recalling that tea sales experience in Shenzhen.
***
The tea purchase episode came to mind after I checked the calendar of global events which indicated that Saturday, May 21, will be observed as International Tea Day.
The observance may not be so significant to us because we, in the Philippines, are not much of tea drinkers or tea growers and producers.
Speaking of consumption, although, at one time or the other, we have taken tea in a simple or multi-course meal in a local Chinese restaurant.
Among producers, China tops the list as of recent reports with an annual production of almost 1.3 million tons.
India comes second with almost a million tons while Kenya ranks third with more than 300,000 tons.
In fourth position is Sri Lanka (almost 300,000 tons) with Turkey ranking fifth (over 200,000 tons).
Top 10 producers are Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam (each with over 100,000 tons) as well as Iran and Argentina.
While China is the top tea producer, it is not the number one tea-drinking country, per capita-wise.
Turkey enjoys the reputation of being the top tea-consuming country with Ireland and the United Kingdom placing second and third, respectively.
Russia, Iran and Morocco are the other top tea-drinking nations.
Interestingly, the most-loved tea brand does not come from top tea-producing countries. Hospitality industry sources tag society tea of Australia as their most prepared brand with Indian products occupying the rest of the Top Five slots – Brook Bond Red Label Tea, Tutsi Green Tea, Wagh Bakri Tea and Pataka Tea.
The brand we are familiar with Lipton, ranks sixth in global popularity.
The brand was named after industry founder, Sir Thomas Lipton, and originated in Glasgow, Scotland in the United Kingdom, where tea drinking is part of social activities.
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International Tea Day “promotes and fosters collective action to implement activities toward sustainable production and consumption of tea and raises awareness of its importance in fighting hunger and poverty.”
It also addresses concerns on labor and production issues, particularly in low-income communities.
Tea is the world’s most consumed drink after water.
Tea is believed to have originated in northeast India, north Myanmar and southeast China.
The United Nations recognizes that tea production and processing “constitute a main source of livelihood for millions of families in developing countries and is the main means of subsistence for millions of poor families, who live in many less-developed countries.”
It is a major revenue earner for some of the poorest countries and provides needed job as a labor-intensive sector.
The International Day aims to counter the declining per capita consumption in traditional importing countries.
Why drink tea?
Tea consumption brings health benefits and wellness, experts say, due to the beverage’s anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and weight loss effects.
It has also cultural significance in many societies.
***
Interestingly, rituals and gatherings have been inspired by the beverage.
Japan, for example, is known for starting the tea ceremony, an elaborate practice of serving and drinking tea as an expression of Zen Buddhism.
The ceremony is held in a tea house in an aesthetic way to welcome guests in which everything is done in an established order.
There is the tea party, too. I remember attending one – while participating in an Asian Christian faculty conference in Chennai India.
One afternoon, we took a break as the announcement was made for a 3 o’clock tea party.
We broke up into smaller groups and proceeded to the nearby campus garden and forgot about our academic agenda as we chatted about less serious matters.
As a social activity, the tea party is traditionally held in the afternoon with cakes, cookies or other light refreshments being served.
I recall “crashing” into a tea party one sunny autumn afternoon while visiting my brother in nearby Michigan on a weekend break from graduate school south of Chicago.
I was walking around the neighborhood when I realized I had walked too far and strayed.
Trying to figure out the way back to my brother’s place, I passed a group of neighbors enjoying the afternoon on the wide lawn.
One of the ladies, sensing the presence of a stranger, asked me, “Are you new here?”
“Yes, just walking around,” I answered although deep inside I felt they were thinking I was an intruder in their neighborhood.
“Where are you from?” she continued.
“The Philippines,” I replied, as I entertained the thought that these group of white folks maybe Asian haters.
Her curious look gave away a smile. “Oh, we had a Philippine girl here before who attended our church I remember she came from an island called Negros.”
“Really? That’s my island, too.”
She then called out her friend to ask, “What’s the name of that Filipino girl in church before?”
Her friend mentioned a name, which made me smile and say, “you must be talking about my sister,” I said flashing my wide smile.
And that broke the ice, prompting her to tell me, “Come join our tea party” and she declared to her neighbors, “Let’s welcome our new friend from the Philippines.”
The fresh-from-the oven cookies were filling and delicious, the conversations warm, the mood was hearty and social “reconnections” were made in that unforgettable tea party.
***
Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing. (Ezekiel 47:12) – NWI
