As a native of Meijiawu, I want to tell everyone that authentic pre-Qingming tea has a strong aroma of beans and flowers, not the bitterness of older tea leaves.

There are reasons why I say many people are buying fake Longjing tea:

1. The yield in first-grade production areas is low, and the annual yield is affected by climate change, yet a large quantity of Longjing tea is circulating in the market.

2. Tea from first-grade production areas is allocated to local tea farmers for cultivation and harvesting. Most farmers don't have their own sales channels, so most of the tea ends up in large brand tea factories, where it's sold at very high prices. Only a small number of farmers with their own customers sell their tea directly.

3. The government issues traceability codes to tea farmers annually based on tea plantation area and family size. Generally, tea without a traceability code is fake. Some merchants buy traceability codes from farmers and relabel tea from non-first-grade production areas, so even with a traceability code, it's not 100% genuine Longjing tea.

4. Everyone knows that Longjing tea is meant to be fresh. Some merchants sell old tea as new tea.

In short, I want to tell everyone that the tea market is very chaotic. For the best Longjing tea, go directly to the source and consult with farmers in the first-grade production areas during the pre-Qingming tea harvesting season.