CCTV Exposes Live-Stream Tea Scam: Ancient Tree Pu'er Actually 'Fake Goods'

CCTV Exposes Live-Stream Tea Scam: Ancient Tree Pu'er Actually 'Fake Goods'
Source: CCTV Finance WeChat Official Account — June 21, 2026

Recently, consumers have reported to the Financial Investigation program of China Media Group that some online live-stream rooms selling Pu'er tea have become hotspots for marketing stunts and scams. Various teas claiming to be from famous mountains and villages, ancient tree teas priced at hundreds of yuan per kilogram, and even collectible cake teas costing tens or just over ten yuan per piece are everywhere. The hosts loudly proclaim "authentic core origin, pure material ancient tree, collectible and value-preserving," but in reality, these are ordinary teas that don't match the description. In the 2022 "3.15" Gala, a case of Jadeite Live-Stream Fraud was exposed, where actors posed as jadeite sellers. This deceptive tactic has now reappeared in live-stream rooms selling ancient tree Pu'er tea.

In some Pu'er tea live-stream rooms, hosts vigorously promote their products, with phrases like "limited edition," "auction-grade," and "tribute tea" ringing out endlessly.

The live-stream room "Yunnan Awei" boasts 786,000 followers, making it one of the top live-stream rooms for selling Pu'er tea. Inside, host Awei is introducing a tea called "Mansong Prince Mountain No. 7 Ancient Tree Pu'er," repeatedly emphasizing that this Pu'er from the Mansong region is very authentic. He even has a tea farmer show their ID to enhance credibility.

Mansong Prince Mountain, located in Xiangming Township, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna, is the core production area of Mansong tea and the original source of Ming and Qing dynasty imperial tribute tea. Only 327 ancient trees are registered and exist there, making it highly scarce. The reporter checked online procurement prices for 2026 from 108 famous mountains in Yunnan, which showed that the procurement price for Mansong Prince Mountain ancient tree Pu'er spring tea is 45,000 yuan per kilogram. However, in "Yunnan Awei's" live-stream room, the product was listed at just 109.1 yuan for 200 grams, selling 1,286 orders within minutes, with sales revenue exceeding 140,000 yuan.

Following the door number in the Mansong area printed on the Pu'er tea cake purchased from the live-stream room, the reporter went to Mansong Prince Mountain in Mengla County to verify with the tea farmer. The tea farmer told the reporter that the Mansong No. 7 Pu'er ancient tree raw tea sold in "Yunnan Awei's" live-stream room did not come from their tea garden; it was fake Mansong Pu'er ancient tree raw tea. The tea farmer bluntly warned the reporter that many Mansong Pu'er teas sold in online live-stream rooms are fake.

In "Yunnan Awei's" live-stream room, the reporter repeatedly saw a person claiming to be Tea Farmer No. 31 from Bingdao Old Village, appearing alongside host Awei to sell ancient tree Pu'er tea from Bingdao Old Village. Local market transaction data shows that ancient tree Pu'er tea from Bingdao Old Village costs thousands of yuan per cake and is in constant short supply. Yet in this live-stream room, 2025 spring tea mixed-pick ancient tree Pu'er from Bingdao Old Village was sold at just 733 yuan per kilogram. Over 1,200 orders were snapped up within seconds.

The reporter immediately went to Bingdao Old Village in the northern area of Mengku Town, Lincang City, Yunnan Province. However, the reporter searched the village but could not find any trace of Door No. 31. Villagers clearly told the reporter that the person in the live-stream room claiming to be a tea farmer from Bingdao Old Village was not a villager there. Even locally in Bingdao Old Village, the price of genuine large-tree tea is at least 16,000 yuan per kilogram.

By accessing sales data from a third-party platform, the reporter found that by selling counterfeit ancient tree Pu'er tea, the live-stream room's sales exceeded 10 million yuan in less than a month.

The reporter applied for a job at "Yunnan Awei's" live-stream room to conduct an undercover investigation. A company manager told the reporter that their business model involves a 50-50 split with tea farmers for live-stream sales, generating several hundred million yuan in annual revenue. Under this arrangement, tea farmers have no say and can only accept the hosts' arbitrary pricing and marketing.

In promotional videos, the reporter saw that host Awei has been building a "farmer-helping" persona, vigorously promoting his cause of aiding farmers. He packages ordinary tea, even blended Pu'er, as "ancient tree tea" and sells it at low prices, leading consumers to believe they are both helping farmers and getting high-quality tea at a bargain.

In a live-stream room called "Yunnan Tea Promoter Teacher Chen," the host dresses plainly with a red sign reading "Three Rural Ambassador" prominently placed in front. The reporter met with the live-stream team leader, Manager Yang, who said they are not cooperating with the local village committee to help farmers; he simply rented a space within the committee's premises. By creating this setting and leveraging consumers' trust in farmer-helping live-streams, they build the host's "farmer-helping" persona. In just half a year, he made a fortune.

The reporter contacted the person in charge of the "Yijing Tea" live-stream room, which has 120,000 followers, under the pretext of cooperation. Investigation revealed that the live-stream claimed to sell Pu'er tea picked in 2011 from Bingdao Old Village, but it was also counterfeit.

While the staff was busy with the live-stream, the reporter found two documents at the scene. One was a labor settlement sheet, clearly listing services as tea sales, on-site appearances, and performances, involving 20 people. The other was a tea farmer's product submission sheet, clearly marking the tea prices of seven tea farmers. Faced with these documents, the person in charge bluntly told the reporter that among the 27 "tea farmers" present, only seven were real, and the remaining 20 were actors.