Quine for 2 hours and spend 100 yuan on grilled oranges! Why is it so popular to make tea around the stove?

On a winter afternoon, a group of friends sit around the stove and spend three to five hundred yuan to cook a pot of tea, accompanied by chestnuts, sweet potatoes, persimmons and other baked goods, and drink tea with friends. Chatting? This winter, making tea by the fire has become a new social favorite among young people. On Douyin, the topic "cooking tea by the stove" has been viewed more than 3.4 billion times; a search for "cooking tea by the stove" on Xiaohongshu yielded more than 160,000 related notes.

Why is making tea by the stove so popular? Will it become the norm in the offline tea space?

▲Photo provided by the interviewee

Some people came here specifically to "produce a film"

"The form of making tea around the stove is very traditional, and it was relatively niche before. , it is really surprising that it has attracted so many young people. "Nan Feng (pseudonym), a post-90s generation, is currently engaged in tea drinking. In the past, she often made tea with friends in the industry, but mostly she mainly enjoyed tea. , this kind of "tea making around the stove" with piles of baked goods next to it and full of winter atmosphere is also the first time I have experienced Nanfeng.

Nanfeng works in Chengdu. In November 2022, making tea by the stove became popular there. Nanfeng and his friends also wanted to experience it, so they chose a restaurant with a high recommendation on Xiaohongshu. teahouse.

“It feels pretty good to me. Usually when people get together, they either drink tea, coffee, or eat desserts. This form of gathering is considered a relatively new way of gathering. And the price of making tea by the stove is not It’s expensive. We used to pay about 100 yuan per person for tea alone, and the price for making tea around the stove is about the same.” Nanfeng said that this time they spent less than 100 yuan per person on making tea by the stove, and the set meal includes sweet potatoes. , potatoes, chestnuts, peanuts, oranges, persimmons and other foods, as well as some snacks, such as raisins, dried apricots, melon seeds, etc.

In Nanfeng’s view, compared with traditional tea tasting, making tea around the stove is more interesting and has a stronger sense of atmosphere. It is a good choice for friends gatherings in autumn and winter. "And making tea by the stove is a great way to make a movie. One of my friends went there just to take pictures, and there were also people who specially wore Hanfu to experience it." Nanfeng said.

Mr. Chen from Liupanshui, Guizhou also believes that in the cold winter, it is very pleasant for two or three friends to cook hot ginger tea and bake egg tarts, longans and other snacks around the stove. "Chatting is comfortable, and hot food warms the heart. The price is also right. On average, a cup of milk tea per person is enough." Not long ago, Mr. Chen and his friends experienced making tea by the stove in a local teahouse. The three of them spent 69 yuan.

▲Photo provided by the interviewee

However, not everyone’s experience of making tea by the fire is a wonderful one. Sino-Singapore Jingwei noticed that on social platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu, many netizens complained that making tea by the stove in reality was very different from what they saw in their circle of friends, such as "smelling of smoke" and "fried chestnuts". Some people think that making tea by the stove should be called "taking photos by the stove".

Nan Feng also encountered some minor problems while making tea by the stove. "The stove in the teahouse is small and the heat source is not enough. It is okay to roast oranges and persimmons, but it is difficult to roast sweet potatoes. I think it is more suitable to make tea outside by the stove. If it is a charcoal stove, it will be filled with smoke indoors. We just thought at the time The smell of smoke in the room was too great, so I chose an outdoor location. It was not very cold at that time, and it was still very warm to drink the tea," Nanfeng said.

It’s difficult to get there without making a reservation on weekends

The rise of making tea by the stove has also given some offline tea spaces a sense of business opportunities. Sino-Singapore Jingwei noticed that in Beijing, in addition to teahouses, cafes, dessert shops, etc. have also launched tea-making set meals around the stove, and the per capita consumption is mostly 100-200 yuan.

Recently, Sino-Singapore Jingwei called a teahouse in Beijing as a consumer. The relevant staff said that there are indeed many customers who come to make tea by the stove recently, especially on Saturdays and Sundays. If they do not make an appointment in advance, it will be very difficult. It is difficult to guarantee that there will be a spot on the day. "We all prepare ingredients based on reservations. If there is no reservation, the place on the day is likely to be full, or there are no ingredients. It is best to call us one day in advance to confirm." The staff member said.

Sino-Singapore Jingwei saw on Meituan that the teahouse has launched a number of group buying packages, including the autumn and winter limited-edition tea-making package for two people. The group buying price is 352 yuan, including tea, handmade Chinese pastries, Seasonal fruits, rice cakes and other items baked in the oven cost 176 yuan per person, and 75 orders were sold in the past six months.

The fireside tea set in cafes and dessert shops is relatively cheaper.

Take a dessert shop in Beijing with a high rating on Meituan as an example. The store's "Haohaohao Peanut Cooking Tea by the Fireplace Meal for Two" group purchase price is 198 yuan, which works out to 99 yuan per person. It has sold 68 orders in the past six months. Its staff said that under normal circumstances, more consumers come to the store to make tea by the fire on weekends. "On weekends, there will be fewer people before two o'clock in the afternoon. After two o'clock, there will be more people and you will need to queue up. There may be at most Waiting in line for two hours.”

A staff member of a cafe in Beijing also said that if you go to the store to make tea by the fire on Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you will basically have to queue. "The main reason is that making tea by the fire is very popular during this time, and many people come to take photos and check in. In addition, everyone is in a "yang" mood recently, so more people come out to play on weekends," said a staff member of the cafe. Sino-Singapore Jingwei noticed that in addition to the tea-making set by the stove, which costs about 100 yuan per person, the cafe also launched paid items such as Hanfu experience and small photography.

It is worth mentioning that most of the tea-making packages launched by offline stores have a time limit, usually 2-3 hours. If the time is exceeded, an additional fee will be charged, 30-100 yuan/ Hours vary.

The rising popularity of making tea around the stove has attracted more and more businesses to join. Data shows that since December 2022, the number of physical merchants that have added "making tea by the stove" service on Dianping has increased by 326% compared with the same period in November; since November, the search popularity of making tea by the stove on the platform has increased year-on-year. An increase of 11.7 times.

“Our fourth- and fifth-tier cities currently have three or four such ‘tea-making shops around the stove’, and the business is also good. Like the shop we went to two days ago, there are You have to make a reservation one day in advance, otherwise you won’t be able to get a seat,” Mr. Chen said.

Nanfeng said that for teahouses, the cost of making tea around the stove is not high. It only requires more fruits, dry goods and ovens, so merchants are willing to try it.

▲Photo courtesy of interviewee

A gust of wind or an industry trend?

In fact, making tea around the stove is nothing new. As early as the Song Dynasty, there was a form of making tea. After the tea leaves were crushed, cooked, stirred, and filtered, the tea soup was poured into a tea cup for drinking. After drinking the tea, some tea fruit snacks were served, and three or five friends sat together. Recite poems and compose poems.

Evolving to this day, there are also various forms of making tea around the stove. In the eyes of some people, today's tea brewing around a fire is more like the "firepit roasted tea" in Yunnan. Firepits are an indispensable thing in Yunnan people's life. People use them for heating, lighting, cooking food, and also grilling food directly on the charcoal fire.

Zhu Danpeng, a food industry analyst and vice president of the Guangdong Provincial Food Safety Promotion Association, told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that making tea around the stove is actually just a scene innovation, making this form of tea drinking more unique. The sense of topic and social attributes cater to and match the core needs and demands of the new generation of consumer groups, and this is also an important reason why tea by the fire has become popular.

The person in charge of Meituan’s emerging entertainment projects also mentioned that the market has identified the emotional value contained in the Chinese way of drinking tea by sitting around the stove. “First, this product is novel enough. Charcoal stoves, teapots and grilled items can simply create the atmosphere and ritual of traditional Chinese life, meeting the needs of taking photos and checking in. On the other hand, it provides a sense of comfort and warmth. In this way of socializing, experiencing slow life has become the core essence, and it also reflects consumers' yearning for "quiet years". In Nanfeng's view, the rise of tea-making by the stove is to some extent. It also reflects young consumers’ recognition of traditional tea culture. "In recent years, consumers have become more and more pursuing health and wellness, and their love for tea has gradually increased. In fact, before making tea around the stove, there were already signs of fire in teahouses. In the past, everyone would go to coffee shops for gatherings, but now many consumers will Choose a new teahouse,” Nanfeng said.

Teahouses have a long history in China. Today, teahouses have both business and leisure attributes, and some companies are even sought after by capital. According to Tianyancha APP, from 2019 to 2022, the new teahouse brand teastone has received 4 rounds of financing, with a single round of financing amounting to tens of millions of yuan. Investors include Tongchuang Weiye, Metasequoia Investment, etc.; in 2021, T9 received Qingrui Chuang Investing tens of millions of yuan in Pre-A round of financing; in 2021, Yichayishe received millions of yuan in angel round financing, with investors including Xinxian Capital and Qinqin Food.

“With the successful application of Chinese tea as a World Heritage Site, making tea will definitely be a major consumer trend in the future.” Nanfeng said.

It is reported that on November 29, 2022, China’s application for “Traditional Chinese Tea Making Techniques and Related Customs” successfully passed the review and was included in the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

“Making tea around the stove has changed young people’s perception of tea drinking, and this new tea drinking culture will not put a lot of consumption pressure on young people, and everyone is more willing to try it. . Perhaps in the future, young people will fall in love with tea culture because of this experience, and the meaning of making tea around the stove will be fulfilled," said Tian Yuanyuan, founder of Shanghai Sikou Yuetian Tea Culture Slow Life Museum.

However, there are certain limitations to making tea around the stove in offline teahouses. For example, some stores only focus on creating a sense of atmosphere and do not adequately export tea drinking and traditional tea culture, resulting in poor on-site experience for consumers. etc. On social media, some netizens said that they “will never go there again” after experiencing making tea by the fire.

Bo Wenxi, vice chairman of China Enterprise Capital Alliance and chief economist of IPG China, said that making tea by the stove can indeed be combined with tea culture to shape new consumption scenarios and better promote tea. culture. However, this form still needs to be further improved.

“Cooking tea around the stove as a trendy demand can indeed attract many businesses to enter the market in the short term. However, if we want to achieve long-term operation and large-scale development, we must also focus on scene-based, social-based and even catering-based services. Explore and cultivate in other aspects, instead of just checking in and spending in a gust of time,” Bai Wenxi said.

Zhu Danpeng also mentioned that with the infusion of traditional culture, making tea around the stove has more connotations and will go deeper and be more "professional". The mutual exchange between traditional culture and online media may make tea-making by the stove a new tea-drinking trend.