CNNP teas and State factory teas

[mbanu]

Some other varieties of packaging for Yingde tea.

Bulk packaging -- interesting to me as I had not realized that any CNNP teas were sold in plywood tea chests. (Also a very interesting looking glazed teapot, has anyone seen this style before?)

Also in Golden Sail brand tins, rather than packets.

Some teabags from 1980, also featuring Sprouting brand lychee and rose congou, and Hainan black tea, which I don't normally hear anything about for some reason...

[mbanu]

Is there such a thing as counterfeit gunpowder green tea? It really does seem hard to believe, given how much gunpowder the state factories seem to produce, but then there are these odd look-a-like brands... Maybe from a less popular State factory?

Green tea section. Interestingly there is no Sprouting brand gunpowder -- was this discontinued before 2020, or is trying to reach the gunpowder market with Fujian tea a new thing? Also, no mention of the big players like Camel or Temple of Heaven, although that two-camels-and-a-palm mark looks suspiciously like a copycat...

In one case, at least, it was indeed from a less popular State factory! The doubletriple-camels is actually a brand of the Hunan Tea Branch for their green teas. (Monkey King being their brand for jasmine teas and some black teas, and Hundred Dragons seeming to be originally a black tea brand but now used for a few different things.) If Zhejiang developed the Camel brand in 1990, when did Hunan develop the "Safinet e' Sahraa" brand?

[mbanu]

A Sunflower brand long jing tin. This one is a bit puzzling as I had thought Sunflower belonged to the Fujian tea branch, not the Zhejiang. Was it originally a shared brand of some sort? Are old CNNP tins collecting counterfeits now?

Some help from the Zhejiang Tea Group, which seems to be the website for the de-nationalized version of the Zhejiang Tea Branch (although somewhat astonishingly for a Chinese tea website, it has an HTTPS connection!)

In 1983 they created a brand specifically for longjing tea, the Shifeng brand, so that tin was from before then.

(They also mention that the Camel brand for gunpowder was created in 1990.)

An example of a Shifeng longjing, and more!

Apparently there was another brand at one time, Goldfish brand Lung Ching. It looks like it existed at the same time as Sunflower, but I'm not sure what the difference was...

(Also, in case anyone is wondering, "Vitamin P" is an old term for what are now called flavonoids -- I'm not sure what they did to lose their vitamin status. )

[mbanu]

A Yunnan black tea tin, I think a State-design, as for Yunnan black tea the tins had illustrations of tea-pickers instead of geometric designs or illustrations of the brand (Goldfish, etc.). Also some ads, which focus on the tea-pickers as well... (The one for pu'er is from 1980, I think the others are earlier.)

[mbanu]

It looks like maybe there was a transition period later, where the Yunnan black tea packaging did not focus on the tea-pickers so much, but they still showed up in the advertising? Or have I got the order reversed? Also some Yunnan tea was apparently also sold as "China black tea", was there a type of black tea made in Yunnan that did not meet the definition to call itself Yunnan black tea? I'm really at a loss here...

[Chadrinkincat]

Oolong tea section. As expected, a lot of Sea Dyke. The coding pattern .m. mentioned for Sea Dyke in the past seems to be mostly the same today. DunHuang is a new brand to me, though -- does anyone know anything about it?

Nice thread! Here’s a version of this tea that I found sitting on shelf in NYC Chinatown. Taste like classic American Chinese restaurant tea. Likely from 1990’s.

[.m.]

DunHuang is a new brand to me, though -- does anyone know anything about it?

I used to buy the DunHuang blue tin Shui Hsien as well as the paper box TKY on the picture in mid 2000's. I've seen the Shui Hsien quite recently, kind of regret not getting a tin of it to bring back memories (back then i thought it was quite good).
This is supposedly 1980's version of TKY https://treasuregreen.com/products/1980 ... i_kuan_yin

[.m.]

Here's a premium Sea Dyke Brand wuyi oolong from early 90's in pewter jar
https://www.lazada.com.my/products/aged ... K&search=1
and a 2006 version of it.
http://www.finepuer.com/product/2006-se ... u-gui-125g
It was discussed on Teachat years back:
https://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 5&p=235910
apparently very desirable among Malaysian collectors.
There about 4 such teas in this premium lineup: RoGuae, ChienLixian, Buchichun, TieLuohan.

[.m.]

Also a Golden Sail Brand puerh (probably Guangdong material) in what looks like an aluminium jar.

[mbanu]

Excellent! I think a new favorite sub-category is "CNNP instructions on how to make tea".

[mbanu]

Yes, i think this is a commonly sold supermarket puerh, but not sure if it is made by Xiaguan.

Here's one for the collection: late 80s/early 90s (my guess) "Slimming Tea" , a black tea from Hubei province.

Very nice! "Hubei Tea & Ramie Branch" is an interesting one -- I guess that in areas where tea was not as large an industry the branches were consolidated?

I think you are right about the Distriborg-packaged pu'er no longer being Xiaguan; I know Xiaguan produces mini-tuos, but I don't think I've ever seen flavored ones from them...

I had to google what ramie is. They should have consolidated it with the hemp branch too.

Apparently at one time they were the "Hupeh Tobacco Ramie & Tea" import & export company. I guess the fading fame of Ichang black tea was not enough to support the Hubei tea branch on its own?

[Chris]

Really enjoying this thread. I don't know why, but I have some kind of false nostalgia for these teas and their packaging. Even with a significant collection of good tea at home, I'll stand there staring in the grocery store tea aisle, hoping for a treasure I know isn't actually there.

On tonight's grocery run, I gave in and bought a box of the Butterfly oolong tea bags.

[.m.]

Apparently at one time they were the "Hupeh Tobacco Ramie & Tea" import & export company. I guess the fading fame of Ichang black tea was not enough to support the Hubei tea branch on its own?

Amazing. Nice find.

[mbanu]

It looks like maybe there was a transition period later, where the Yunnan black tea packaging did not focus on the tea-pickers so much, but they still showed up in the advertising? Or have I got the order reversed? Also some Yunnan tea was apparently also sold as "China black tea", was there a type of black tea made in Yunnan that did not meet the definition to call itself Yunnan black tea? I'm really at a loss here...

Another example of this from Jiangxi, trying to promote their Fouhong black tea while showcasing it in "China black tea" tins. Before World War II this tea was known as "Fowliang tea" by English-speaking exporters, and I think was normally used for making English Breakfast blends rather than sold on its own. This ad is from at least after 1984, at which time I don't think anyone in English-speaking circles was familiar with this tea -- did it survive on as an Eastern European export?

[mbanu]

Excellent! I think a new favorite sub-category is "CNNP instructions on how to make tea".

More tea-making instructions, this time for "Tea Pot" brand black tea, whose logo looks suspiciously like the background image from the "How to Make Jasmine Tea" instructions. Notably, the instructions for making "Tea Pot" tea do not include using a teapot.