380 RMB for a pot of tea

380 RMB for a pot of tea
Aug 11, 2007 18:29
GRIZ326 Points: Join Date: Jun 12, 2006 Status: offline	I met a good friend and co-worker at the Beijing airport where we were both catching flights. So we had tea at one of the teahouses on the second floor of the domestic flights terminal. The bill for the tea was 380 RMB which is $50 USD. That seems like an extraordinary about of money for tea...but it was an airport teahouse so the price was surely inflated. My co-worker actually offered to pay for it as if it were a commonplace price for a pot of tea. So do ordinary Chinese citizens drink such expensive tea? I was shocked by the bill!!!

Aug 11, 2007 18:29

GRIZ326
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Join Date: Jun 12, 2006
Status: offline

I met a good friend and co-worker at the Beijing airport where we were both catching flights. So we had tea at one of the teahouses on the second floor of the domestic flights terminal.

The bill for the tea was 380 RMB which is $50 USD. That seems like an extraordinary about of money for tea...but it was an airport teahouse so the price was surely inflated. My co-worker actually offered to pay for it as if it were a commonplace price for a pot of tea.

So do ordinary Chinese citizens drink such expensive tea?

I was shocked by the bill!!!

Aug 12, 2007 04:49	#1
MELODYCHOW Points: Join Date: Mar 5, 2006 Status: Offline	Yestoday afternoon I went for an outing with my frends. After enjoyed ourselves we had our supper in a restaurant at the tourist site. On the menu I saw a surprisingly higher price of samshu costs about 7, 000 RMB/ bottle. And we were told that the aging samshu has been stored for more than 30 years. However, I've never thought the samshu is worth that price.

Aug 12, 2007 16:37	#2
GRIZ326 Points: Join Date: Jun 12, 2006 Status: Offline	Holy Mackerel! Melody, that's 900+ USD for rice wine.

Aug 12, 2007 20:15	#3
EVENING Points: Join Date: Dec 5, 2006 Status: Offline	I don't think ordinary people will drink such an expensive tea. Usually, we prepare a bag or box of tea leaves and infuse a little when we want to drink. The prices of a bag or box of tea leaves vary from several tens to hundreds yuan, but not as high as 380 rmb per pot on average!

Aug 12, 2007 21:01	#4
JOHNNY512 Points: Join Date: Nov 29, 2004 Status: Offline	Griz, What kind of tea do you drink, Longjing or Maojian? They are really too expensive. Have you ever heard of the Pu'er tea produced on Yunnan province? It is also very expensive. Just as Evening said, ordinary people do not drink such expensive tea.

Aug 12, 2007 22:01	#5
GRIZ326 Points: Join Date: Jun 12, 2006 Status: Offline	I do not know what sort of tea it was, my friend ordered it. What I remember is that the tea leaves were light green rather than dark. I did buy some Pu'er tea to bring home, Johnny512. It was not as expensive as some of the other compressed teas that I purchased.

Aug 12, 2007 23:54	#6
WINDENERGY Points: Join Date: Jan 24, 2006 Status: Offline	If your friend ordered it and you paid for it...well, welcome to China! You were tricked! Next time, ask for a menu (caidan) and have your friend point at what he just ordered. Then, you can turn the tables in your favor by asking him why he likes to drink such expensive tea? __WINDENERGY__

Aug 13, 2007 01:19	#7
MAY001 Points: Join Date: Sep 28, 2005 Status: Offline	The common tea houses in my city offers various pots of tea. Usually, the prices are between 50~200. Yes, there are higher prices in some extraordinary tea houses.

Aug 13, 2007 15:57

GRIZ326
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Join Date: Jun 12, 2006
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Ahhhh...we both have cynical minds windenergy...but in this case I will give my co-worker the benefit of the doubt. I do not think this was the teahouse scam we've all heard of.... ...and she tried to pick up the bill...but then I insisted being senior to her in our company. Had I saved the receipt I could have written it onto my expense account ;)

So I guess it is fair to say it was very expensive...and that under other circumstances it might have qualified as being tricked. Perhaps the high prices in the world's airports are the real trick.

Aug 14, 2007 05:30	#9
SUSAN205060 Points: Join Date: Jun 15, 2007 Status: Offline	next time , if you want to drink tea, just email me, i can invite you to my hometown tea plantation to enjoy different tea (free charge).

Aug 14, 2007 11:18	#10
GRIZ326 Points: Join Date: Jun 12, 2006 Status: Offline	Thank you for the delightful invitation, Susan. If I ever return to Shanghai, I will look you up. :-)

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