6 Most Common Fake Teas

Here are the 6 most common fake teas that tea industry insiders are aware of, so tea lovers can avoid being deceived:

1. Artificially Colored Golden Eyebrow ("Jin Jun Mei") - Many e-commerce platforms sell gold-yellow colored Jin Jun Mei, leading new tea drinkers to believe authentic Jin Jun Mei should be entirely golden. But the "golden" in Jin Jun Mei refers to its precious, golden-like quality, not a completely yellow color. Authentic Jin Jun Mei should have a mix of gold, yellow, and black colors.

2. "50-Year-Old" Aged Ripe Tea - The technique of wet piling to produce aged ripe tea originated in Guangdong, and was later adapted by Yunnan tea companies starting in 1973. After 2 years of refinement, large-scale production began in 1975. So claims of "50-year-old" aged ripe tea are completely false.

3. "20-Year-Old" Ancient Tree Raw Pu-erh - Similar to the aged dark tea, claims of 20+ year ancient tree raw pu-erh cannot be true. The concept of ancient tree tea only started gaining popularity around 2007. Before that, ancient tree tea was virtually unknown and unsellable, so mixed harvests were common, not single-origin ancient tree teas.

4. Artificially Aged "Old White Tea" - There are many techniques used to artificially age white tea. Genuine naturally aged white tea should have an uneven, varied color. But much of the "old white tea" on the market has a uniform dark color, lacking luster and moisture, likely produced through wet piling fermentation.

5. "Ice Mountain/Banzhang Ancient Tree" Small Green Chenpi - Small green chenpi (tangerine peel) has been very popular lately, leading to fierce competition. Many unscrupulous sellers now claim their chenpi is made with ancient tree raw pu-erh from Ice Mountain or Banzhang - two extremely rare and precious ancient tree origins that are almost never used for ripe pu-erh.

6. "100-Year-Old" Duck Shit Aroma Cultivar - Duck shit aroma (also known as "orchid aroma") is another trendy tea. Sellers now often claim their duck shit aroma teas come from 100-year-old trees, but the original duck shit aroma mother plant is only around 80 years old.

These are the common fake teas that ChaChaBell has identified. Do you know of any other fake teas to be aware of? Please share in the comments to help more tea lovers avoid being deceived.