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Deep in Yangzhou's historic alley, Derek Poskin runs a tea house named "Empty Cup", where he connects visitors from all over the world with Chinese tea culture, fostering people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States.
Derek Poskin from the US live-streams at his tea house "Empty Cup" in Yangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: yzwsxlt]
After being inspired by a famous verse by the Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Li Bai, Derek came to Yangzhou in 2016. When taken by his friends to experience the local morning tea tradition for the first time, he tasted lyuyangchun, a local tea known for its bright, clear liquid and delicate fragrance, qualities that evoke the gentle richness of Yangzhou culture.
This experience sparked a desire to explore further, leading him to visit local tea mountains. Then he realized that Yangzhou is home to exceptional teas often unknown to overseas audiences.
Since 2018, Derek has expanded his quest beyond Yangzhou, traveling to major tea-producing regions across China, including Wuyi Mountain, Shifeng Mountain in Hangzhou, and Wudong Mountain in Chaozhou.
For Derek, tea is not just a business, but a key to understanding China and promoting traditional Chinese culture around the world.
On social media platforms both in China and abroad, Derek has become an advocate for Chinese tea culture, sharing his tea-hunting journeys, his life in Yangzhou, and the Eastern philosophy behind tea.
Derek plans to begin offering tea culture tours at "Empty Cup", where he leads international visitors to tea mountains and shows them how to pick and stir-fry tea leaves before brewing cups of tea. He also hopes to harness Yangzhou's tea culture to boost tourism, introducing a wider global audience to this beautiful city.
