Duck Sh*t Tea (and Chocolate): It's real and it's spectacular!

Tasty tea (and chocolate) with unsavory name.

If you were trying to entice customers to drink a specialty tea, cultivated from lush plants and rich terrain that strongly delivered in both taste and smell, you would most likely favor descriptors that evoke beautiful imagery, fragrant aromas and delightful flavors. 

Duck doo-doo does not rank high for such alluring advertising.

However, if you are trying to dissuade people from seeking your tea out - say, ruthless competitors or big business takeovers - labeling it foul fowl feces would be a good start.

That is the legend of Duck Sh*t tea.

A confession:  in all my years in the tea business, I had never heard of this tea of type.  Though my memory is often tested, I am certain I would not have forgotten a tea with this misleading moniker. And, misleading is key here, as I have come to discover more about this odd duck tea.

My Story:

Last week, as part of my ongoing birthday celebration, my daughter, Rachel and son-in-law, Sean, gifted me with a collection of chocolate and tea and chocolate tea. Truly, they know what I love (including them). But, of course, the Duck Sh*t Tea Chocolate label immediately got my attention.  

Daughter, Rachel, had Duck Sh*t tea when living in China a few years ago.

While they purchased this at a gourmet food emporium in Salt Lake City during a recent trip, Rachel, was already familiar with this Chinese tea and explained the name, is, indeed, real. She actually drank Duck Sh*t tea when she lived in China a few years ago. She also shared what she knew of the tea's lore: a tea farmer cultivated such an extraordinary tea that, to guard against unwanted attention, he gave it a name to offend and repel.

Duck Sh*t Tea's Story: 

Digging a bit deeper, according to UK's TeaTrade, there are two theories of the branding origins of Duck Sh*t tea. The first involves a tea farmer, Wei Chunse, who lived in a mountain village in the province of Guangdong (southeast China). He introduced a tea bush from a higher altitude village to the unique yellow-soil of his own farm. It produced such an aromatic tea, superior to those in the area, that at the risk of theft - played out by the cutting of branches and grafting - a name was given to get the competitive hounds off the alluring scent.

Another suspect in the Duck Sh*t label is the soil itself.  Rich in minerals, the dirt has a distinct yellow loam and an overall yellowish-brown hue, which, to the locals, resembles excrement of the grain-fed poultry in the region. 

It is suggested that the truth of the Duck Sh*t name may be a combination of both theories. Our clever tea farmer may have drawn inspiration from a common reference to protect his unique tea creation.

Would Duck Sh*t Tea by Any Other Name, Smell as Sweet? 

When the Duck Sh*t hit the fan, fans demanded it not change. In 2014, a Chinese Tea Farmers Association tried to "gentrify" the tea and package it with a more attractive label, "Silver Flower Fragrance". Customers rejected the change, preferring its "earthy original", signaling a trend in the high-end tea market which places value on authenticity and provenance.

List of ingredients on candy bar, notably absent, duck doo doo

Waiting for the tea, but chocolate is just fine

Currently, I'm making my way through my Duck Sh*t tea chocolate bar from FOSSA Chocolate. It's delicious - definitely malty and earthy with hints of floral. It's not sugary sweet, either, which gives it staying power on my serving platter.

In the meantime, I'm sourcing some Duck Sh*t tea. I like that its true to its authentic self and ditched the Silver Flower for a name we'll all remember. Duck Sh*t tea happens and I can't wait to sample more.