Lose Your Shit With This Latest Tea Trend

There really is no way around this story that I am about to share for the greater benefit of our local community. The naked truth remains immutable: I’ve devoted one of my final articles of 2021 to duck shit.

Duck Shit Aroma tea, that is.

Hey, are you even living in Beijing if you don’t do this stuff? Maybe. A dull life, devoid of the thrills that those of us who like to keep with the times chase with gusto.

For those Beijingers thronging round the newly minted Butterful & Creamorous (黄油与面包) in Taikoo Li, the chase is all about patience. You better be patient if you’re planning on hitting the first Beijing branch of this Shanghai-based pastry shop. They just opened on Christmas Day with the usual whimsical menu of baked goods and beverages. However, one of their items alone has already granted them internet celebrity status.

The hullabaloo around their signature Duck Shit Aroma Lemon Tea (鸭屎香柠檬茶 yā shǐ xiāng níngméng chá) pushed me there during one lunch break. I was naïvely hoping to snag a cup, perhaps even one of their celebrated croissants too, both already sold out on Dianping. My hopes were promptly crushed by the crowd-taming clerk who told me it would be a four hour wait. Fat chance I’d do that. I turned my back to this sensational scenario, ducks worldwide farting in thunderous, rumbling disdain.

So what the heck is this tea, really? The name’s kinda clickbait. Nobody is enhancing your tea with duck droppings, although maybe some of us deserve it. I’d assumed it was a more affordable cousin of Kopi Luwak, aka civet cat poop coffee, but it’s not even that.

Duck Shit Aroma (Ya Shi Xiang) belongs to the celebrated Golden Phoenix family of teas hailing from Phoenix Mountain in China's southern Guangdong province. Fog and rain shroud this mountain year-round in ideal, moist conditions for its soil to nurture the growth of the single grove this tea is plucked from.

Indeed, Ya Shi Xiang is a variety of 单丛 Dan Cong “single bush” Oolong tea. The qualities of Ya Shi Xiang have inspired tea connoisseurs to try and rename it 银花 Yin Hua Xiang – meaning “honeysuckle” – except nobody’s going to go for that name when there’s a much funnier one. After all, legend has it that some zealous farmer came up with the duck shit name to throw others off the scent (quite literally, he hoped) of this uniquely local brew.

Though this article is not really meant to be a drink review, I was still eager to try the darn tea. Luckily, other local parlours are quickly catching up to the trend. A quick search for 鸭屎茶 in Dianping led me to two different stores: Soha (唆哈手打柠檬茶) in Chaoyang Joy City, right outside Qiangnian Lu Station on Line 6, and Welemon (王柠广东柠檬茶), with their unassuming branch in Baiziwan First South Road, Houxiandai Centre D Area, nearby Dajiaoting on Line 7.

Much to my chagrin, Soha had run out of the concoction by the evening, so I dragged my stubborn self to Dajiaoting. Hosanna in tea heaven — Welemon had both their Duck Shit Aroma Lemon Tea and the extra special Salty Kumquat Duck Shit Aroma Lemon Tea available.

You know what? It’s a good one. Definitely not queue-your-ass-off good, but solidly decent nonetheless. I particularly loved the Salty Kumquat twist: zesty and zingy, this would make for a great thirst quencher in the summer, modestly priced at RMB 19.

The million-dollar question remains: Why would the multitudes at Taikoo Li endure the ungodly cold for the Butterful & Creamorous version? Ask and ye shall receive, dear reader. The answer I got was unanimous: it’s not so much about the flavor as it is about the thrill of chasing trends. Some may scoff at this revelation, but as for me, I found it endearingly — and somewhat oddly — reassuring.

Why? Because there’s a sense of community when humans want to feel “in” with the times and the latest trends; to connect and not be left behind. And although that farmer who gave this tea its name may not like it, Duck Shit Aroma Tea is connecting people, one cup and sip at a time.

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Images: Ana Padilla Fornieles