美國小哥在中國賣茶：咖啡為工作，茶才是生活！

“喝咖啡是為了工作，茶是拿來生活的。”說這話的，是美國人彭丹青（Derek Poskin）。他的一天，通常從一杯茶開始。

According to American Derek Poskin, "Coffee is for work, but tea is for life". His typical day always begins with a cup of tea.

在江蘇揚州老城區一條小巷里，有一間由舊民居改造而成的茶室，名叫“Empty Cup”（空杯）。主人彭丹青坐定，燒水、溫杯、投茶、注水，動作不疾不徐，整套流程比許多中國人還地道。常有來自世界各地的客人推門進來，他便沏上一壺茶，講起自己和一片葉子的故事。

Poskin now runs Empty Cup, a tea house renovated from an old house nestled in Yangzhou's old quarter in Jiangsu province, where he introduces visitors from around the world to China's tea traditions.

但若把時間倒回十年前，這個場景誰也想不到。

從茶友到茶商

2016年，彭丹青第一次踏上江蘇揚州。讓他來到這座歷史悠久的運河古城的，是李白的那句“煙花三月下揚州”。來了之后，他不僅愛上了這座城，更一頭扎進了中國茶的世界，樂在其中。

快十年過去，他已經從一個茶葉愛好者，變成了一個向全球賣中國茶的老板。

He first arrived in Yangzhou in 2016, tracing a poem by Tang Dynasty (618–907) poet Li Bai and developing a growing appreciation for Chinese tea culture.

Nearly a decade later, he has become a tea entrepreneur, sourcing premium leaves across China and selling them to customers worldwide.

彭丹青的茶葉生意始于2018年，最初只是副業。茶喝得越多，茶具買得越多，最后家里變成了倉庫。“總得想辦法分享這一切。”于是生意就這么開始了。頭幾年并不很順利，但后來，他開始收到來自全球各地的訂單。

"I started drinking and buying more, and eventually turned my house into a warehouse," he said. "I had to share it somehow, and that's how the business began."

Poskin launched his tea venture in 2018 as a side project, aiming to connect Western tea enthusiasts with the traditions behind it. The early years were challenging, but orders eventually arrived from around the world.

他的經營方式相當“復古”：親自跑到中國各大茶葉產區，親眼看過、親手摸過才肯下單。每到春茶季，他就往茶山里鉆。如今，他幾乎走遍了中國大多數主要產茶區，跟茶農一起采茶、學做茶。

Rather than working through middlemen, Poskin travels directly to tea-growing regions across China, from the ancient forests of Yunnan province in the southwest to the oolong gardens of Fujian province along the eastern coast.

說走就走的尋茶之旅

刮風寨是云南的一個瑤族村寨，距離老撾邊境僅兩公里，以出產高品質普洱茶而聞名。要到這里，得先從西雙版納州府景洪市坐三小時大巴到易武鎮，再顛簸三四個小時的崎嶇山路。彭丹青一直想去看看。

One of Poskin's most memorable expeditions took him to Guafengzhai, a remote village of the Yao ethnic group in Yunnan's Yiwu town, about two kilometers from the border with Laos.

Renowned for its high-quality Pu'er tea, the village had long been a bucket list destination for the entrepreneur.

怎么去？靠社交軟件。他聯系上了一位名叫趙曉云的當地年輕茶農。

The journey began with a leap of faith — connecting through social media with a young, local farmer named Zhao Xiaoyun.

“我跟一個從沒見過面的人，約在一個從沒去過的地方，讓她帶我去中國邊境，”彭丹青說，“但我一見到她就知道我們聊得來。我們都‘講茶的語言’。”

"I had this prearranged date with a person I'd never met, in a town I'd never been to, to venture to the borders of China," Poskin recalled. "But as soon as I met her, I knew we were on the same page. We both spoke the language of tea."

接下來的幾天，他全身心投入到茶葉生產的每一個環節，采茶、揉捻、殺青，上手很快。

The four-day expedition immersed him in every aspect of tea production. Joining Zhao, her mother, sister, and friends deep in the tea forests, he picked leaves, laid them out to sundry, and helped with the roasting.

趙曉云說，他們之前也接待過外國茶商，但彭丹青對茶的了解確實不一樣。“教他殺青，他很快就掌握了要領。”

“泡”進中國文化

為了弄懂潮州的功夫茶，彭丹青干脆在潮州待了一年，專門學做手拉壺。光跟著茶農跑山、學做壺還不夠。有一年清明節前后，他甚至跟著當地人家去掃墓，一起殺雞、燒香燒紙、給先人擺供品。

Poskin's dedication to understanding tea goes beyond sourcing trips. He spent a year in Chaozhou, Guangdong province, studying the art of making clay teapots used for gongfu cha (tea with skill). He has participated in some local customs and festivals during his trips.

“能參與到這種活生生的文化里，太震撼了。”他說，“當我透過山里人的眼睛去體驗這個世界時，我才意識到茶文化有多么深厚。茶葉本身，只是其中的一小部分。”

"It was incredible to be part of that living tea culture," he said. "When I experience the world through the eyes of the people in the mountains, I realize how deep tea culture really is. The leaves themselves are just a piece of the puzzle."

穿行于各個省份，彭丹青對茶的理解也從追求“正確”的喝法，轉變為欣賞其多樣性。他發現中國的茶文化特別靈活，每個地方都不一樣：揚州人直接用玻璃杯泡綠茶；潮州人則擺出一套功夫茶具，小壺小杯，講究得很。

Through his travels across different provinces, Poskin's understanding of the drink itself has shifted from a search for correctness to an appreciation for diversity.

“中國的茶文化是流動的，更道法自然。怎么喝都對。這讓我覺得很包容、很自由。”

"Chinese tea culture is fluid, more Taoist," he said. "Every place has its own style, and any way you drink tea is the right way. I find that very welcoming and liberating."

讓外國人喝到地道中國味

如今，彭丹青的生意越做越大。主要客戶在美國，德國和歐洲其他國家也有不少訂單。

他把自己跑茶山、尋茶的過程拍成視頻和照片，分享在社交媒體上，讓大家看到茶葉是從哪里來的、怎么做的。

Poskin documents his sourcing journeys through videos and photographs, sharing them with customers to create transparency and connection between consumers and producers.

除了短視頻，他還做了一個叫“Tea Soup”的播客，經營YouTube頻道，積累了一大批對中國茶文化感興趣的全球粉絲。

His content creation extends to a podcast called Tea Soup, a YouTube channel, and an active social media presence, through which he has built a following of enthusiasts eager to learn about authentic Chinese tea culture.

彭丹青只用自家網站賣茶，從茶名到包裝全部自己操刀。他給在刮風寨購入的普洱茶起名“非人間”——取自李白的詩句“別有天地非人間”，靈感就來自他行走在刮風寨原始樹林、古茶樹之間的感受。

Poskin operates exclusively through his own website, maintaining full control over the customer experience — from freshly coined tea names to packaging designs.

“錢夠用就行，多的拿去做好事”

談及未來，彭丹青有著更遠大的愿景：賺到一定錢之后，把錢花回茶農身上。他說自己不需要賺沒完沒了的錢。夠用就行，多的錢要拿去做好事。

Looking ahead, Poskin envisions his business evolving into a social enterprise that gives back to farming communities.

一開始，他就是出于熱愛而開始這項事業。現在，他想要更深入地理解中國茶，采購更好的茶葉，喚起更多人對中國茶文化的認知和喜愛。

"From the start, this has been a passion project," he emphasizes. "I want a deeper understanding of Chinese tea, to source better tea, and to awaken more people to Chinese tea culture."

揚州那間茶室，就是這種理念的縮影。他希望將其打造成一個讓人們親身體驗中國茶文化的實體空間。

被問及對想在中國創業的年輕人有何建議，彭丹青說：中國處處有機會，也有很多愿意幫你的人。但別心急。偉大的事要慢慢做，然后某一天，所有的事情就一下子都來了。

Poskin offers fellow entrepreneurs a perspective of patience. "China is a world of opportunities. There are so many people who can help you. But don't rush it," he noted. "Great things take years, and then they happen all at once."

記者：鄭正 吳婉珍

跟著China Daily

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