Rob said

Marketing pu erh as a drug

It seems increasingly that pu erh (and maybe some other teas) are being marketed more like drugs than tea. I sense that the tea-drunk, tea high, cha chi aspects are being highlighted and hyped. Seeing a couple of things on Facebook this morning and watching Mei Leafs video on his latest gushu cake (and other videos) makes me feel that the envelope is being pushed a little too far. Yes I know that tea leaves certainly do belong in the category of plant material that has an addictive and noticeable effect on people (like tobacco leaves, cocoa, coffee, sugar cane, cannabis etc) but I think it’s being over marketed and words like stash, high and drunk seem a bit inappropriate.

Or am I being a bit sensitive and everyone’s buying the good stuff exactly for the high?

Post I saw on Facebook :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/gongfucha/permalink/863090390460665/

22 Replies
TeaLife.HK said

Hey, they sell pu erh cigarettes in China, so it’s not just an American thing

Login or sign up to post a message.

That Facebook post is by a tea blogger, who doesn’t sell tea, so that’s just a personal meme, but I was just talking to a friend about this subject. It’s hard to evaluate since different people experience that aspect differently, and especially hard for me since I tend not to, at least to the degree typically described. If I drink certain teas on an empty stomach the effects can be stronger but in general I don’t like that feeling, so I don’t do that. As one tea friend put it, if I wanted to get high I’d just do drugs. An interesting part of this is vendors mentioning that the teas are interesting related to the effect, and not so much the taste, so evaluating it per their input that effect would be the point.

So I have mixed feelings about all this. Appreciating this aspect, and range of feel versus taste, is nothing new, well-accepted by many. But it seems like low-hanging fruit for ungrounded vendor spin, especially if coupled with claims of tea plant age. It could potentially draw in new interest in tea, but then people new to tea would have the least experience to evaluate it against.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Brian said

i dont get tea drunk, but i def get tea stoned. however, i wouldnt call it a drug.

sorry i, am not good in English, what is different between stoned and drunk?

Login or sign up to post a message.

AllanK said

In one sense it can be like a drug but in another sense it acts completely unlike a drug. That is if it were a drug, then a certain tea should get everyone tea drunk. But it does not work this way. One person may drink the Naka by White2Tea and report getting tea drunk but it never effected me at all.

There is another sense how puerh is sold as a drug though and this one is worse. Some puerh sellers will claim that puerh actually fights a variety of diseases. And while puerh tea may have some beneficial effects on the digestive system this is about the only medicinal value of tea I know. Some people do take green tea extract as a weight loss pill that too is not proven.

Babble said

Another “naka did nothing for me” person here. Did you get your sample from the pu-erh box or elsewhere?

AllanK said

Bought the sample from White2Tea.

Babble said

Okay. I had the sample from the box and I thought I was something with just that sample. Good to know it wasn’t just me.

AllanK said

Getting an effect from the tea’s qi is a fickle thing. Some people tend to feel it while others never do. I have had people tell me they commonly get tea drunk but for me any feeling of qi is a rarity. I have found it with Yang Qing Hao teas more than any other. But those teas are very expensive. If you live in a state where it is legal, pot is cheaper and lasts longer. Cha Qi tends to go away as soon as you stop drinking. It doesn’t act like a drug in most ways. A drug will effect everyone the same. Cha Qi effects everyone differently.

curlygc said

I would also add that the effects vary from one session to another. I’ve often suspected that hormonal fluctuations have an impact on this for females in particular. But even things like drinking after a meal vs. an empty stomach can make a difference.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Babble said

I don’t think the envelope is being pushed too far … yet. But give it time and it’ll get there.

It’s the same thing with tea health benefits being overhyped. If it sells, people will buy it, unfortunately.

I will admit that I find the “gives me a tea high” gimmick catchy and I’ve bought teas specifically for that reason. In fact, I’ve considered starting a blog on my journey. But it’s not really a “one size fits all”. It shouldn’t really be compared to being drunk or high, even though those are nice buzzwords that sell well.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Everune said

I just tried sheng pu erh today, and the qi is definitely a nice part of the experience. I’m not sure I’d call it a drug, but it does make you feel quite pleasant for a while/

Login or sign up to post a message.

I do fine some of the marketing funny at first. Meileaf I just ignore as they are just hamming it up and do scummy marketing already.

However, Puer tea drunk effects has been catching wind these days. I think because of those meileaf videos on reddit. More and more people asking which ones will mess you up more than what tastes good or be more educated on puer. I find that really disappointing because there is more to tea than that. The answer is always disappointing too – it’s not every tea, not consistent, not for everyone. (subtly, how about you buy some pot instead if you live somewhere legal?)

But I can see some of us being sensitive about it if this keeps going, as we’ll be seen as junkies if the trend continues. Not people who enjoy tea for tea.

I dunno. I worked as an A&D counsellor. My brain keeps thinking the worst at first thinking we got people who need counselling rather than having fun. I can see the marketing edge to grab more young people who aren’t being grabbed for bogus health crap marketing.

kinda rambly. oh well.

Babble said

To play devil’s advocate, I live in a state where pot is not legal so that is not an option. And alcohol has too many consequences to make it worth it (heartburn, stomach trouble, expensive)

So if people turn to tea as a way to “seek out a new experience” I feel like it’s not too harmful. Now when they start going down the road of combining it with other substances, that makes me uneasy.

But for as long as I can remember people have been misappropriating tea. Before “tea drunk” it was “can I smoke tea leaves like I can marijuana?”

AllanK said

I will rarely buy a tea because it advertises good Cha Qi because most of the time I won’t feel that effect anyway so why bother. I buy teas I hope will taste good, or teas I hope will improve with some age on them when it comes to puerh.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Bitterleaf said

For a lot of people the feeling is a big part of what they look for in a puer. I think there’s some exaggeration with that tough. A lot of tea sessions sound like high school kids that stole a 6 pack from their parents over the weekend or a mild acid trip or something. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but I’ve yet to wake up in a strange bed holding the steering wheel of the car I stole after a night of binging on sheng.

The body feeling aspect is more subtle, and really depends on the individual’s physiology – the same as with any substance. Just because one person feels a certain way, doesn’t mean someone else will. I also don’t think “cha qi/body feeling” can be equated with tea drunk.

Well said.

Login or sign up to post a message.

TeaLife.HK said

I agree with BitterLeaf, tea drunk and cha qi are two different things entirely. Even teas with strong cha qi aren’t going to feel anything like pot, but they do leave me with sleepy wellbeing that I enjoy greatly. Other people think cha qi should be energizing, but in my experience it is calming and often puts me to sleep.

Babble said

I guess i’m still trying to understand the difference between tea drunk and cha qi. Are you saying that “tea drunk?” doesn’t exist?

IMO, “tea drunk” is simply caffeine od, and cha qi is a cleaner, more pure feeling and almost never feels just like an energy boost.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Tea contains stimulants and mood altering chemicals such as theanine. That is certainly objective. There is also a subjective experience associated with tea that is influenced by many factors and then articulated through a perspective lens. I have enjoyed some deeply moving tea sessions, but the leaf was only part of the experience. If I articulate that experience to you it does not mean I think you will have the same.

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.