The big topic in the tea world these days is investigators cracking down on foreign tea being sold as premium Taiwan tea, so the store manager is chiming in to vent and stay relevant. Note: Updated by the manager on 7/28. First, let’s introduce the key players:
- Mr. Yang, a Vietnamese tea merchant. Passed off Vietnamese tea as Taiwanese tea, selling it to Mr. Lin for NT$125 per 600 g. He still has 10 tons of Vietnamese tea at home.
- Mr. Lin. Head of a tea factory in Ren’ai Township, who bought Vietnamese tea from Mr. Yang at NT$125 per 600 g and sold it to a well-known tea shop in Taipei.
- A well-known Taipei tea shop. Bought tea from Mr. Lin and resold it to consumers.
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Update 1: According to the manager’s sources, the incident involving foreign tea being passed off as Taiwanese tea actually happened in June 2021; it’s unclear why it only made the news in July 2022.
Update 2: The head of the Lin tea factory did indeed trade Vietnamese tea, but he informed his downstream buyers that it was Vietnamese tea—he didn’t pass off cheap Vietnamese tea as Taiwanese tea as reported in the news.
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First, let’s talk about the well-known Taipei tea shop, which is also a popular online seller. Whether they were victims or not, they’ve suffered massive losses this time, facing not only fines but also immeasurable damage to their reputation.
Next is Mr. Yang, the Vietnamese tea merchant. Based on the news reports, not only did he supply Vietnamese tea to Mr. Wang [Note: referring to Lin], but he also passed off Vietnamese tea as Taiwanese tea to retail customers, which is why he was busted by investigators. The manager thinks selling Vietnamese tea is fine, but lying and saying it’s Taiwanese tea is a major no-no. The juiciest part of the gossip is that he still has 10 tons of Vietnamese tea in his warehouse—wonder how much of it he’s already sold…?
Finally, Mr. Lin
Mr. Lin. According to the information the manager received, he didn’t “pass off cheap Vietnamese tea as Taiwanese tea” like the news claimed; he merely traded Vietnamese tea and clearly informed his downstream buyers that it was Vietnamese tea.
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Liberty Times Report: https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/society/breakingnews/4004699
China Times Report: https://www.chinatimes.com/realtimenews/20220726004228-260402?chdtv