Unscrupulous businessmen seeking to cash in on top prices paid for aged puer tea on the mainland have resorted to making fake tea in pigpens in Sihui city, Guangdong.
Guangzhou's Information Times quoted a tea dealer yesterday as saying he had found a suburban tea processing factory where tea leaves were left in an abandoned pigpen, surrounded by dirty drains and maggots. Aged black puer tea is prized for its medicinal qualities.
The director of Sihui's Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Xie Guoxin, confirmed yesterday that it was investigating the suspect factory.
'We have not arrested anyone yet because we are still waiting for the results of the quality tests,' Mr Xie said, adding the test would take about 10 days.
Industry sources said the practice was 'common' on the mainland.
'In fact, making fake aged puer teas is quite popular in the tea industry on the mainland because there is a growing number of collectors who are buying the puer tea,' a Guangdong tea dealer said, adding that huge profits had also driven up demand.