Young American businessman makes a fortune by making videos of making Chinese tea

Passionate about Chinese tea, a young American entrepreneur came up with the idea of ​​using social media tools to do business and contribute to promoting cultural exchange between the two countries.

Jesse Appell shares how to make tea in a video clip posted on the Tiktok platform and received many followers. (Source: https://brewista.co)

When American Jesse Appell had his first cup of loose-leaf Chinese tea at the Maliandao market in Beijing 13 years ago, he was surprised to find 1,000 vendors to choose from.

Originally from Boston, Appell was a Fulbright scholar majoring in Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University at the time.

Appell, who loves Chinese tea so much, has sought to bring Chinese tea products and culture to American consumers and has achieved some success. The young American entrepreneur quickly received more than 30,000 orders from American customers through video clips shared on Instagram and TikTok platforms with the participation of several Chinese comedians.

The products promoted by Jesse Appell on social media platforms are mainly tea bags, tea powder and coffee sourced locally across China.

Jesse Appell spent a considerable amount of time in China, primarily in the capital Beijing, from 2010 until the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in 2020, mainly to learn cross-communication from a professional performer there.

Three years ago, he decided to start Jesse's Teahouse, a company that imports and distributes Chinese tea and agricultural products. Appell's website gets about 2,000 visits a day. About half of Appell's 1 million social media followers come from TikTok, with the rest coming from other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Appell posted videos of him making tea, pouring water, or enjoying tea. Many of the skits were humorous and received many comments and likes from customers.

According to Jesse Appell, tea and related items such as bamboo trays from China are shipped to Jesse's Teahouse through a logistics center in the state of New Jersey, USA before being delivered to customers. Between a quarter and a half of Jesse's Teahouse's revenue comes from the business of selling tea tools and equipment.

A warehouse of tea materials from a local producer of Jesse's Teahouse in Guangxi, southern China. (Source: Xinhua)

Appell’s idea has helped local manufacturers gradually penetrate the huge North American market. One of the young American entrepreneur’s suppliers in Yunnan Province, Southwest China, has even earned more than $200,000 through Appell’s social media videos.

Beyond business, Jesse Appell wants to use social media to introduce Chinese culture to Americans through Jesse's Teahouse. His Apple podcast describes tea as a bridge between people and a conversation starter.

Jesse Appell started posting videos on social media in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when many people were stuck at home, and his following skyrocketed.

Seeing the growing demand, Appell came up with the idea of ​​starting an online tea-drinking club and began posting instructional videos on tea-making techniques. A YouTube video on how to make “tea oranges,” tiny dried citrus fruits filled with Puer tea from Yunnan, has received more than 37,000 views.

“Anyone who comments or interacts on the videos is a potential customer. I will gain more followers and sell more tea by documenting my journey as a cross-cultural tea drinker,” Jesse Appell excitedly shared.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/doanh-nhan-tre-nguoi-my-kiem-bon-tien-nho-chuyen-lam-clip-pha-tra-trung-quoc-294050.html