The Tian Fu chain, some changes.
 

I have been to two or three Tian Fu (TenRen in the west) shops here
(Dongguan and Guangzhou in Guangdong province), two of which I had
visited before and had a decent experience, and it seems that there
have been changes in the way they do business. I firstly noticed that
nearly all of the cha jiu (tea stuff...includes trays, pots, gaiwans)
if it is below the 30 or 40 dollar range has either been disposed of or
just not restocked. Like in the West, I think they are trying to
market to the higher income people in an attempt to make their shop
appear to be the elitist alternative to teashops. Also, I was able to
try one of their "Anxi Tieguanyin('s)" and was very disappointed to
find that it was the cheap Guan Yin Wang that is peddled here in
profundity and can be bought for like 5 bucks a kilo at the Fangcun
market in Guangzhou. They have resorted to huai dan (bad egg)
businessman tactics in their selling of tea; last time I remember their
Anxi being very fresh and high quality with excellent leaves.

The second and most annoying aspect of these shops was that I literally
had my every step stalked by an attendant in the shop reasserting the
prices and so kindly showing me the most expensive items in the shop.
Normally when you say, "kan yi sha" (just want to have a look) they
leave you alone; not anymore. I thought it especially priceless when
one young lad with an idiotic grin tried to sell me some horrid quality
longjing (leaves were dark green, broken, and filled with holes from
bugs) for much higher than the price on the box said...the box having
the price in Chinese, so he was sure I couldn't read it. Being shown
the most expensive items in the shop is not a new experience for a
foreigner in China, but it was terribly overdone here.

I also especially hate it when an attendant tries to sell me some tea
without even letting me see the leaves or try it. In the West you can
put a little more faith in what it says on the box, but not here. They
could be selling you a bag of dust mites and you would never know it
until you get home and open the bag.

To my utter disappointment, I have decided to stay away from the TianFu
chain in this area. By the way, they wanted me to pay 200 yuan to them
after I tried their "Anxi Tieguanyin" without mentioning that
beforehand...I politely replied 'wo ting bu dong' (I don't understand)
and left without looking back.

In article .com>,
"Mydnight" > wrote:

> I have been to two or three Tian Fu (TenRen in the west) shops here
> (Dongguan and Guangzhou in Guangdong province),

Yes! that's the kind of reportage i'm talking about!
there's been a little too much talk of Peachy Heaven
and Republic of Tea lately for my taste (i'm jus' sayin').
a little spot-on live-from-the-trenches tea talk is just
what the doc ordered. i'm all ears..............p*

:: earperk:: Peachy Heaven?? Did someone say Peachy Heaven??

LOL!!

Thanks Mydnight, it's great to have first-hand info like that.

Melinda

--
"The country has entered an era in which
questions are not asked, for questions are
daughters of disquiet or arrogance, both
fruits of temptation and the food of sacrilege." Djaout
"pilo_" > wrote in message
...
> In article .com>,
> "Mydnight" > wrote:
>
>> I have been to two or three Tian Fu (TenRen in the west) shops here
>> (Dongguan and Guangzhou in Guangdong province),
>
> Yes! that's the kind of reportage i'm talking about!
> there's been a little too much talk of Peachy Heaven
> and Republic of Tea lately for my taste (i'm jus' sayin').
> a little spot-on live-from-the-trenches tea talk is just
> what the doc ordered. i'm all ears..............p*

Hehe, doesnt sound much different than the shops here now. You would
think that being that close to the Tea Maket they woul be more on tne
level. Are they really fooling that many natives?

Mike

On Sat, 05 Mar 2005 03:20:35 GMT, pilo_ > wrote:

>In article .com>,
> "Mydnight" > wrote:
>
>> I have been to two or three Tian Fu (TenRen in the west) shops here
>> (Dongguan and Guangzhou in Guangdong province),
>
>Yes! that's the kind of reportage i'm talking about!
>there's been a little too much talk of Peachy Heaven
>and Republic of Tea lately for my taste (i'm jus' sayin').
>a little spot-on live-from-the-trenches tea talk is just
>what the doc ordered. i'm all ears..............p*

Sounds like a used car dealership. I always thought TenRen overpriced
even for stocked shelf items. Even in my Chinatown the best stores are
off the beaten tourist trails. All things being equal the in your
face, follow you around tactics and paying for free samples sounds like
Arabic markets of the Middle East. Just learn to walk away and don't
take the taunts personally.

Jim

Mydnight wrote:
> I have been to two or three Tian Fu (TenRen in the west) shops here
> (Dongguan and Guangzhou in Guangdong province), two of which I had
> visited before and had a decent experience, and it seems that there
> have been changes in the way they do business.
....deleted some good stuff...

unfortunately, here in nyc area tenren also uses the same approach.
this is true both in chinatown and flushing queens.
i do though order small samplesof rose jasmine from tentea online-
joanne

unfortunately, here in nyc area tenren also uses the same approach.
this is true both in chinatown and flushing queens.
i do though order small samplesof rose jasmine from tentea online-
joanne

unfortunately, in some instances it seems tearen sells low quality tea
from china and market it as being from taiwan.


Joanne Rosen wrote:
> unfortunately, here in nyc area tenren also uses the same approach.
> this is true both in chinatown and flushing queens.
> i do though order small samplesof rose jasmine from tentea online-
> joanne

Has anybody tried TenRen King's tea:
http://tenrens.com/kingstea.html

It's all over my Chinatown but located behind the herbal counter where
you ask for assistance and not on the tea aisles. The ginseng is from
Wisconsin. I'm not big on ginseng taste but the description indicates
it is hardly noticeable and used to accentuate the taste of the premium
tea. I know American ginseng is more 'cool' than asian 'hot'.

Jim

Joanne Rosen wrote:
> unfortunately, here in nyc area tenren also uses the same approach.
> this is true both in chinatown and flushing queens.
> i do though order small samplesof rose jasmine from tentea online-
> joanne

Sorry 'bout your experience, but I enjoyed reading this.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

"Mydnight" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have been to two or three Tian Fu (TenRen in the west) shops here
> (Dongguan and Guangzhou in Guangdong province), two of which I had
> visited before and had a decent experience, and it seems that there
> have been changes in the way they do business. I firstly noticed that
> nearly all of the cha jiu (tea stuff...includes trays, pots, gaiwans)
> if it is below the 30 or 40 dollar range has either been disposed of or
> just not restocked. Like in the West, I think they are trying to
> market to the higher income people in an attempt to make their shop
> appear to be the elitist alternative to teashops. Also, I was able to
> try one of their "Anxi Tieguanyin('s)" and was very disappointed to
> find that it was the cheap Guan Yin Wang that is peddled here in
> profundity and can be bought for like 5 bucks a kilo at the Fangcun
> market in Guangzhou. They have resorted to huai dan (bad egg)
> businessman tactics in their selling of tea; last time I remember their
> Anxi being very fresh and high quality with excellent leaves.
>
> The second and most annoying aspect of these shops was that I literally
> had my every step stalked by an attendant in the shop reasserting the
> prices and so kindly showing me the most expensive items in the shop.
> Normally when you say, "kan yi sha" (just want to have a look) they
> leave you alone; not anymore. I thought it especially priceless when
> one young lad with an idiotic grin tried to sell me some horrid quality
> longjing (leaves were dark green, broken, and filled with holes from
> bugs) for much higher than the price on the box said...the box having
> the price in Chinese, so he was sure I couldn't read it. Being shown
> the most expensive items in the shop is not a new experience for a
> foreigner in China, but it was terribly overdone here.
>
> I also especially hate it when an attendant tries to sell me some tea
> without even letting me see the leaves or try it. In the West you can
> put a little more faith in what it says on the box, but not here. They
> could be selling you a bag of dust mites and you would never know it
> until you get home and open the bag.
>
> To my utter disappointment, I have decided to stay away from the TianFu
> chain in this area. By the way, they wanted me to pay 200 yuan to them
> after I tried their "Anxi Tieguanyin" without mentioning that
> beforehand...I politely replied 'wo ting bu dong' (I don't understand)
> and left without looking back.
>

It's bad to say it, but I think they are. In China it's part of many
people's psychology to pay more for appearances regardless as to what
they are buying. For instance, a 5-star hotel may have a beautiful
exterior and waiting area, but the rooms are crap. The same goes for
tea...not every Chinese person knows about tea like everyone thinks.
Using the right marketing, you could sell a truly inferior quality tea
for a huge amount of money providing that your shop looks pretty.

At least we know better...or I think I do sometimes. heh.