They come in all shapes and sizes, many offering food buffets. The capital, Hangzhou, leads the pack with around 1,000 tea houses.

Tea has been proved to contain specific antioxidants and health-promoting ingredients and these aspects have boosted Zhejiang tea industry's prospects. Last year, the province's tea output value reached 7.75 billion yuan (US$1.13 billion), up 17.7 percent compared with 2008. The value of sales in Hangzhou's tea houses exceeded 1 billion yuan last year.

As global tea consumption improves, Zhejiang's green tea exports increase. The province's tea, mostly green, accounted for 60 percent of the nation's total exports in 2009.

Green tea is made solely with the leaves of camellia sinensis and there is minimal oxidation during processing.

Over the past few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting regular green tea drinkers may have lower chances of heart disease and stroke and be less susceptible to developing certain types of cancer.

As a consequence, it has also become more popular in the West where black tea is traditionally consumed.

Increased sales are driving tea farmland development in Zhejiang.

Surveys by the agriculture department show that the area now devoted to tea farming has climbed back up to previous record levels of 1,820 square kilometers.

The surge in consumption has also benefitted the province's tourism sector, with tea drinking, participating in tea ceremonies, and visiting tea farms and gardens becoming new highlights.

But the tea industry in Zhejiang and China also faces challenges. Though China exports and produces a great deal of tea it is not a dominant country in tea manufacturing.

Thin profits

Russia consumes 185,000 tons of tea every year, yet Zhejiang's green tea accounts for no more than 3 percent of Russia's tea market share.

In some countries, Chinese tea's retail price is around US$1 per kilogram, which is 40 percent less than Indian tea and much less than the retail price in China.

Tea farmers in Zhejiang are still earning thin profits and some are even losing money.

Even within China, enthusiasm for drinking alcohol exceeds that for drinking tea. The seemingly huge provincial 7.75-billion-yuan tea output value is less than half of Maotai Wine Factory's annual output value (Maotai Wine is the most famous Chinese liquor), according to Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce.

And also, sipping tea in tea houses is not always a peaceful and cultural experience. "A large number of people come to tea houses to chat, play poker and mahjong or eat food. Tea is secondary," says the manager of Jin Yong Tea House, surnamed Liu.

"The tea industry's future depends on branding and Zhejiang still has a long way to go," believes Li Guangdou, an expert on brand development. "Though Dragon Well tea is famous, the public seldom knows the name of its manufacturer."

Editor: Lency

Source: Shanghai Daily