--- description: Blending tea culture with travel title: China Daily - TIME - Partner Content - Blending tea culture with travel image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf7e18c153fa1be66/6a27c859014010b4eece7a59/6._Blending_tea_culture_with_travel.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Blending tea culture with travel  _Poskin and Zhao Xiaoyun roll tea leaves. ZHENG ZHENG / CHINA DAILY_ By ZHENG ZHENG and WU WANZHEN When Derek Poskin first arrived in the historic canal city of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, in 2016, he was tracing a poem by Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Li Bai and developing a growing appreciation for Chinese tea culture. Nearly a decade later, the American, born in 1988, has become a tea entrepreneur, sourcing premium leaves across China and selling them to customers worldwide. “Coffee is for work. Tea, though, is for life. I’ve always been passionate about Chinese tea,” Poskin said from Empty Cup, his renovated tea house nestled in Yangzhou’s old quarter, where he introduces visitors from around the world to China’s tea traditions. “I started drinking and buying more, and eventually turned my house into a warehouse. I had to share it somehow, and that’s how the business began.” Navigating China’s tea landscape is no simple feat. The country produces thousands of varieties across six main categories — green, white, yellow, oolong, black, and dark teas like Pu’er. Rather than working through middlemen, Poskin travels directly to tea-growing regions across China, from the ancient forests of Yunnan province in the southwest to the oolong gardens of Fujian province along the eastern coast. “One of the reasons I came to China was to live the tea culture. The best way to do that is to go where the tea is made,” he said. One of Poskin’s most memorable expeditions took him to Guafengzhai, a remote village of the Yao ethnic group in Yunnan’s Yiwu town, about 1.2 miles from the border with Laos. Renowned for its high-quality Pu’er tea, the village had long been a bucket list destination for the entrepreneur. The journey began with a leap of faith — connecting through social media with a young, local farmer named Zhao Xiaoyun. “I had this prearranged date with a person I’d never met, in a town I’d never been to, to venture to the borders of China,” he said. “But as soon as I met her, I knew we were on the same page. We both spoke the language of tea.” The four-day expedition immersed him in every aspect of tea production. Joining Zhao, her mother, sister, and friends deep in the tea forests, he picked leaves, laid them out to sun-dry, and helped with the roasting. Poskin’s dedication to understanding tea goes beyond sourcing trips. He spent a year in Chaozhou, Guangdong province, studying the art of making clay teapots used for _gongfu cha_ (tea with skill). This method uses small pots and cups to bring out complex flavors through multiple short infusions. These experiences have become central to his business model. Poskin documents his sourcing journeys through videos and photographs, sharing them with customers to create transparency and a connection between consumers and producers. His content creation extends to a podcast called Tea Soup, a YouTube channel, and an active social media presence through which he has built a following of enthusiasts eager to learn about authentic Chinese tea culture. Most of his customers are based in the United States, with significant sales to Germany and other EU countries. To introduce premium flavors to a wider audience, he utilizes blending techniques that maintain high quality while remaining affordable. “I buy some really good tea and blend it with a less expensive tea that complements it, so people can try something high-quality at an affordable price,” he said. For each product, he creates detailed tasting notes, origin information, and brewing instructions. Looking ahead, Poskin envisions his business evolving into a social enterprise that gives back to farming communities. His new teahouse project in Yangzhou aims to create a physical space where people can experience Chinese tea culture firsthand. “From the start, this has been a passion project,” he said. “I want a deeper understanding of Chinese tea, to source better tea, and to awaken more people to Chinese tea culture.” [](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/) ## China Daily Website - Connecting China Connecting the World Since its launch in 1981, China Daily has grown to become the nation’s leading English-language newspaper. With a combined print, online and mobile readership of more than 470 million, it serves a vital role in telling the world about China, providing valuable insight into the world’s second-largest economy. [LEARN MORE](https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/) China Daily - TIME - Partner Content - Blending tea culture with travel ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/blending-tea-culture-with-travel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/blending-tea-culture-with-travel/"},"headline":"Blending tea culture with travel","datePublished":"2026-07-09T07:02:11.871Z","dateModified":"2026-07-09T07:02:00.216Z","description":"Blending tea culture with travel","url":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/blending-tea-culture-with-travel/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/branded-content/china-daily/blending-tea-culture-with-travel/","name":"Blending tea culture with travel"}}]}] ```