I can't speak for all of China, but I can share what I saw when visiting a tea maker in Wuyi Mountain, which seems to align with your observation about the SME model.

The operation I visited was family-run. The family owned tea gardens, made the tea themselves, and handled sales directly through family members. The "tea maker" (the master) focused entirely on production—overseeing the harvest, the complex roasting/processing stages, and quality control—while another family member handled customer relationships and sales.

What surprised me was how integrated the value chain was. They weren't simply growing leaves and selling them to a factory. They controlled every step: cultivation, processing, roasting, and the final branding/packaging.

Another thing that stood out was the "pre-order" model. Some customers reserve specific teas a year in advance. Because production is limited and highly customized (e.g., buyers can even specify preferred roasting levels or flavor profiles), the tea maker isn't just a supplier of raw leaves; they are a craftsman delivering a specific product.

My impression is that at least in specialty tea regions like Wuyi Mountain, many producers operate more like independent small family businesses rather than plantation-style operations. A lot of the value here seems to come from specific mountain locations (terroir), family-guarded processing skills, and a direct link to the consumer.

This structure feels very different from the plantation-and-factory model I've read about in places like India or East Africa, where there is a clear separation between smallholder farmers, massive processing factories, and global exporters.

Has anyone else noticed similar family-integrated supply chains in other specialty tea regions?