Connecting Gaiwan Hipsters and Premium Chinese Tea: The Attitudes, Habits, and Purchasing Behaviour of Boutique Tea Consumers

Abstract

Chinese tea production quality is increasingly able to satisfy the needs of the highvalue global market, yet product communication remains challenging for producers. Through a literature review and series of econometric tests constructed with novel data from 408 international respondents, we explore consumer attitudes, habits, and purchasing behaviour. We observed that the green tea consumption frequency was negatively correlated with average purchase value and there was no correlation between consideration of organic status and purchasing behaviour. Based on these findings, we offered straightforward and practical suggestions for those tea producers who are interested in accessing the global tea market’s high-end segment.