>>21411080
>>21411068
Though to be fair I was less targeting outright scams and more saying you're overpaying for a fake story and little if any quality difference most of the time. You can usually get the same tea without the branding and the larp just by buying fairly reputable bulk loose leaf teas because they're coming from the same source anyway. And then yes way, way at the high end you get a unique experience that's probably worth a premium price to those who can afford it and know the difference which most people won't but that's a whole separate market.

This pattern holds true for most things considered luxury goods. See also: 'made in italy' clothing that uses imported Chinese labourers in Italian factories.

Besides which anyone using the term grandpa style, which derives from claimed practices of old chinese men, or recommending things people aren't familiar with like gaiwans over just spending literal pocket change on something like picrel is clearly into it as a larp not just to drink tea. It's a good way to work out who you can just ignore.