Tea is one of the three major non-alcoholic beverages in the world. Our country is the first country in the world to grow, make and drink tea. It has been more than four thousand years since Shennong’s cultivation, processing and drinking, and the history and culture of tea drinking has a long history. China’s discovery of the edible and medicinal properties of tea has made a significant contribution to mankind. Tea is a healthy drink that not only appeals to the elegance of the court, but also enters the homes of common people. It is not only a national gift given to heads of state, but also a cup of soup loved by thousands of households. Tea sells well in domestic and foreign markets due to its unique color, flavor, appearance, functionality, appreciation, culture and other attributes, and has become a widely circulated and enduring beverage around the world. Tea trees are planted in more than 50 countries and regions around the world, with a tea garden area of about 5 million hectares. More than 2 billion people in more than 160 countries and regions have the habit of drinking tea.
Our country is the country that produces the most types of tea in the world. There are six categories: green tea, yellow tea, dark tea, white tea, oolong tea and black tea. After reprocessing or fine and deep processing, various products are produced, such as scented tea, pressed tea, and instant tea. There are more than 20 provinces and more than 1,000 counties (cities) producing tea across the country. According to customs statistics, the total area of tea gardens in the country in 2019 was approximately 2.9999 million hectares, ranking first in the world; the annual production of tea (dry tea) was approximately 2.7934 million tons, accounting for 54.42% of the world’s total production. In 2019, our country’s tea export volume was 366,500 tons, with an export value of US$2.02 billion, accounting for 19.92% of the world’s total tea exports, ranking second in the world. Among them, green tea exports exceeded 303,900 tons, accounting for 82.9% of the total tea exports.
Chun mee green tea, a major export product of green tea, is mainly sold to Morocco, Uzbekistan, Algeria, Libya, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Afghanistan, Germany, France, Poland, Spain, and other countries. These consumer markets are basically Muslim countries or Muslim-inhabited areas in European countries. The main dietary habit is beef and mutton. There has been a huge demand for Chinese green tea for a long time, and you cannot have a meal without tea.
Tea-drinking customs vary across the world, and requirements for the type and quality of tea are also different. In the tea export trade, the key is to control and evaluate the quality of exported tea. As our country’s traditional export product for earning foreign exchange, the quality of tea is evaluated through sensory evaluation. Tea evaluation skills play an important role in tea export trade. This article combines examples of chun mee green tea export trade work, reviews the application methods of tea review skills in all aspects of trade, and illustrates the importance of tea review skills in tea export trade.
Ⅰ. The application of tea review in the export trade process
The brief procedures for tea export trade include transaction (inquiry and counter-offer), delivery, and after-sales settlement. Each procedure is inseparable from tea review.
1. Application of review skills in the transaction process
In the transaction process, determining the transaction sample is a key step in the initial stage of the transaction. Sales staff need to have an accurate grasp of the color, aroma, taste, and shape of the transaction samples. They need to be targeted according to the quality requirements of different markets, customers, and brands, and provide targeted samples to customers for both parties to confirm, in order to obtain the most favourable opportunities for the transaction. As far as exporting chun mee green tea is concerned, the main export markets have different requirements for tea quality. Only by understanding the needs of each market and effectively using review skills can we ensure the smooth progress of chun mee green tea in the transaction process.
African Market
The African market is divided into North African and West African markets, with different quality requirements for tea.
The most representative country in the North African market is Morocco, which is located at the northwest tip of Africa and faces Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar to the north. It has a land area of 459,000 square kilometers (excluding Western Sahara 266,000 square kilometers) and a population of 36.5 million. It is the country with the largest import volume of green tea in the world. In 2019, it imported 74,000 tons of tea, accounting for more than 50% of Africa’s total tea imports. The imported products are mainly pearl tea, chun mee green tea and a little jasmine green tea. This market requires both internal and external tea quality, with particular emphasis on appearance. For chun mee green tea, the appearance is tight and even, with a small proportion of the lower part. The dry tea is moist in color, has a rich and fresh taste, and the soup is bright yellow-green.
The West African market mainly includes Mauritania, Senegal, Niger, Mali, Ghana, and other countries. Mauritania is in northwest Africa, with an area of 1.031 million square kilometers and a population of 4.5 million. In 2019, the tea import volume was 14,000 tons, mainly medium and high-grade chun mee tea, with almost no pearl tea consumption. Senegal is located at the westernmost tip of Africa, with a land area of 197,000 square kilometers and a population of 15.73 million. In 2019, it imported 15,000 tons of tea, mainly chun mee green tea. West African countries place more emphasis on quality requirements. They especially like tea with a strong, refreshing taste, long-lasting fragrance, and bright yellow-orange color. The requirements for the lower part of the appearance are not as strict as those in the Moroccan market.
Central Asian Market
The Central Asian markets mainly include Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and other countries. Uzbekistan has an area of 449,000 square kilometers and a population of 33.37 million. It is the second largest importer of green tea, importing 20,000 tons of green tea in 2019. Pakistan has a land area of 796,000 square kilometers (excluding Kashmir) and a population of 208 million. In 2019, it imported 2,695 tons of Chinese green tea. The Central Asian market prefers mid-to-low-end chun mee green tea with thick and even appearance, large size, bright yellow-green soup color, and mellow and refreshing taste.
European and American markets
The demand for tea in the European and American markets is relatively diverse, including high-end famous tea, as well as mid-to-low-end bulk pearls and chun mee tea. European importing countries have formulated a series of standards on the issue of pesticide residues in tea, and they are updated and become more stringent year by year. Therefore, tea exports to Europe must first meet the EU pesticide residue limit standards, followed by sensory quality requirements. The market’s quality requirement for famous tea is to “live up to its name”, that is, to have the quality characteristics of traditional tea. European importers attach great importance to the long-term stability of the quality characteristics of brand products, and emphasize that green tea has a uniform green appearance, a clear yellow-green soup, a mellow taste, and a fresh and sweet aftertaste.
2. Application of review skills in contract performance and delivery
In the performance and delivery process, the most critical thing is “delivery according to sample”. By accurately grasping the “eight major factors” of the appearance and inner quality of the transaction sample, we can process and produce products that meet the quality characteristics of the transaction sample. The degree of consistency between the delivery quality and the confirmation sample is the best measure to reflect the integrity and professionalism of the supplier. It is commonly known as “the size of the sample matches”. Without excellent evaluation skills, it is impossible to guide processing and production, it is impossible to compare large and small samples, and it is difficult to keep the delivery quality under control.
3. Application of review skills in the after-sales settlement process
In the after-sales exchange settlement process, the completion of the transaction does not mean that the export product is delivered and shipped to the customer’s designated location. The goal of all the preliminary work is to achieve smooth and safe settlement of foreign exchange and realize profits. As far as the export of chun mee green tea is concerned, it is a common phenomenon that there are foreign exchange settlement risks in the payment methods of foreign customers. On the one hand, exporters must prevent risks in payment methods, and on the other hand, they must strictly control product quality, and cannot give importers the excuse to underpay or refuse to pay due to quality problems. Due to the risks of payment methods, exporters are required to use their review skills to resolve quality disputes objectively and proactively after the arrival of goods once they encounter uncontrollable factors such as bad credit of the importer, unfavorable market conditions, fierce market competition, etc. Through excellent review skills, we can objectively analyze the authenticity of the problems raised by customers, the reasons for the problems, and the severity of the problems, to convince people with reason and argue with reason, thereby reducing losses and avoiding risks. Those who are required to compensate must act in good faith, and those who should refuse compensation must have legitimate reasons to avoid deadlock and interruption of cooperation.
Ⅱ. The protective role of tea review in stably expanding the market
In the tea export trade, only by facing the market and customer needs sincerely and objectively can the business proceed smoothly and achieve the expected results. When expanding into new markets and new customers, companies need to understand the market’s requirements carefully and accurately for product quality characteristics and develop products according to market needs. Through in-depth market research, the company will focus on reviewing the representative brand products on the market, accurately define the various factors of appearance and internal quality, and clearly provide tea samples that can meet the needs of customers, to gain the greatest chance of transaction. At the same time, the cost of the samples provided by the company needs to be properly controlled to ensure quality advantages while ensuring profit margins, otherwise it will be a waste of one thing. That is to say, the sample provided is a deal, but if the sample is delivered, it will not be profitable. If the sample is not delivered, the credibility will be lost and the customer will be lost. Therefore, in the tea export trade, tea professional evaluation technology is highly technical and professional, and needs to be controlled and balanced from a higher perspective.
Ⅲ. Integration of tea evaluation methods with tea drinking customs in the international consumer market
1. Drinking customs in the international tea consumption market
The national standard GB/T 23776-2018 “Tea Sensory Evaluation Method” stipulates a set of tea evaluation operation standards. In overseas consuming countries, especially Muslim countries, such as African countries, the tea evaluation methods are deeply influenced by the local “boiling-style” tea drinking customs. That is, take an appropriate amount of tea leaves, add an appropriate amount of hot water, continue to boil, add sugar or mint to taste, and evaluate the quality of the tea leaves in this way. In actual business, it is necessary to flexibly apply domestic tea evaluation methods and standards, combine with customers’ evaluation methods, and summarize the commonalities of different methods in evaluation.
Factors such as whether the inner taste of tea is pure, whether the aroma is high and lasting, whether the soup is clear, and whether the bottom of the leaves is soft and tender will not change. Although tea drinking methods and review methods are inconsistent, it will not affect the objective judgment of tea quality. When evaluating exported tea, one must understand and master the evaluation methods of the tea importer and provide marketable products.
There are various ways to evaluate bulk green tea abroad, which can be mainly divided into two categories: boiling water brewing type and boiling water boiling type.
The basic operation of water brewing is not much different from that in our country, but the ratio of tea to water and brewing time are different. It is a tea evaluation method gradually formed based on the consumption habits of different countries. For example, in Central Asian countries such as Pakistan and Uzbekistan, the focus is on appearance when evaluating tea leaves. Tea leaves with large branches, large leaves, loose and uniform are more popular. During wet evaluation, the tea to water ratio is 1:25, brew for 5 minutes, and steep twice. Usually, wait for the tea soup to cool down for several hours before tasting the tea soup again to identify the persistence of the tea flavor and then make a comprehensive judgment. Countries such as Morocco in Africa sometimes use the Chinese national standard method for evaluation, usually brewing twice, with the second brew focusing on observing the clarity and turbidity of the tea soup.
The boiling water boiling type is mainly concentrated in African countries such as Morocco, Mali, and Mauritania. These countries usually use the following methods for tea review. Weigh 10 grams of tea sample, mix thoroughly with boiling water and pour out the tea soup (called “washing tea”), then add 300 ml of boiling water and boil for 2 minutes, add 10 grams of white sugar, continue to boil over low heat for 5 minutes, and the soup is ready for review. Some countries, such as Morocco, also add mint and other seasoning flavors. Then the inner quality is evaluated, paying attention to the redness of the soup and the intensity of the taste. Finally, the tea soup is poured repeatedly to generate foam on the surface of the tea soup, and the amount, density and persistence of the foam are compared. It is believed that high-quality tea has more foam, finer foam, and longer duration. Combined with the results of the previous two taste evaluations, we comprehensively evaluate the quality of the tea, including whether there is any peculiar smell, whether it is resistant to brewing, etc.
2. Comparison of different evaluation methods in chun mee green tea trade
In the daily work of chun mee green tea export quality control, in order to more accurately identify the quality of tea, especially the endoplasmic factors, the soup was made three times according to the national standard method, and the three review results were combined for comprehensive evaluation, referred to as the “General Quality Control Method”.
Compared with the results of tea evaluation in our country, the Moroccan soup preparation method can not only objectively reflect the quality of tea, but also the quality differences between different grades are more obvious. The concentration and thickness of the tea taste and the color of the tea soup. The difference in degree and depth is magnified. To enhance the accuracy of the export chun mee tea review and meet customer requirements, it is more reasonable to use the review methods of two countries to further verify the review results.
Ⅳ. Conclusion
Tea review plays an important role in controlling tea export trade, and plays an important stabilizing role in trade transactions, contract delivery, and after-sales settlement. At the same time, it also plays a decisive role in quality control and market adaptation of exported tea. The application of tea evaluation skills is the refinement of the work experience, hard work and wisdom of tea people of all generations, and it plays an immeasurable role in all areas of the tea industry. Applying and giving full play to traditional evaluation skills is a blessing for our contemporary tea people. It is also our mission and responsibility to keep pace with the times, inherit and innovate. We hope that people in the industry can work together with tea feelings and craftsmanship spirit to create a comprehensive and diversified way for more people to understand, master, and apply existing review skills.
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