Tea Plantation Tour from Shanghai

Has anyone done a tea plantation tour from Shanghai?

We visited a tea plantation near Shanghai on a land tour. It was quite interesting, but by no means the best visit we made in the Shanghai area. We saw how tea was grown and harvested, then sampled different types. There was an extensive range of teas and accessories for purchase at very expensive price points.

We've been taking to one of many ... on an escorted land tour based in Shanghai too - it was probably 1.5 to 2 hours west of the big city, via one of the tolled highway, out in the countryside. The presentation on the arts of tea ... production, water, soil, sun, variety, aging, storage, benefits, etc. probably lasted 30+ minutes, including a sample of the farm's "popular" & most recommended products ... and the pretty sales girls have specially tailored variety for common health remedies like hypertension, diabetes and indigestion, etc.

Plus, you can buy a variety of teawares, pots, sets of cups and cermaic, glass & insulated cups/mugs, etc. packaged & nicely wrapped, ready to take home or later when you get back to your hotel, etc. - all designed to lightened up your wallets and/or credit cards ... free foreign currency exchange (your U.S. & Euro dollars cheerfully accepted, LOL)

You will be *** surprised at the price of those 10 pack sampler, i.e. maybe $4 or $5 USB only, 10 grams of it, a tiny amount would be more - but a 4 oz. deluxe & best buy can easily run you $30 to $50 USD ...(shocked, I meant) but very compact, vacuum sealed wrapped and each serving can be re-used up to 3 times or more, thus "very economical" & an "excellent buy". ;p :rolleyes: :p

Depending on your bilingual/multi-lingual tour guide, the sales pitch can be very slick & elaborate - the pressure to buy something varied too ... and, of course, it has the state's seal of approval, etc. etc. Pretty much the same presentation & approach when we toured the Ali Shan, high mountain region in Taiwan 2 years ago ... it included, as part of our tour package's price, a "special" lunch with various tea & vegetation products used in the cooking & served as meal dishes, fun & interesting - oh, yes ... they also produce & sell their own pure/clean/refreshing "spring mountain" coffee beans, grounded & ready to brew ... and tea-based baked snacks served. Tourists arriving by the busload at the "Welcome Center" with a gift for everyone stepping off the motorcoaches, by the aboriginal natives - said to still live, work & hunt at 3,000 ft. plus elevations (super-technology competent with iPhones & tablets ... once they finished their traditional musical dances & singing). It was worth the trip for us in Taiwan, the ones in Hangzhou/Shanghai region - in comparison, was just so so & far less eleborate.

A 8-oz black tea or green tea, top-graded in a tin-can can be yours for easily $200 USD, tax & duty-free ... if you think imported coffee beans are expensive - a tour like ours, guaranteed to open your eyes wide.

Bonus tips - these places have relatively clean bathrooms since they are marketing to visitors, tourists & foreigners ... do take advantage of it when stopping there for a tour. Look for the non-squatting toilet pan but bring your own multi-use facial/toiletry issues & hand sanitizers.

I would stay away from these tours. They are all sales traps selling very expensive tea or related products. These tours are unavoidable on budget or land-based shopping tours but I personally would not waste my time going there voluntarily. Spend your precious time else where.

Thanks all for your input.

TeaSnob