MrZhu would like to respectfully disagree. MrZhu has spent this much on tea. And been very very happy about it. Many grades of Pu Er and Long Jin can cost nearly that. It is like buying Jade: one must be careful.

Mr. Zhu also will note that while you can get dinner for $2 in Beijing you can also get it for $2 in New York (very similar dish actually, Mr. Zhu likes the fried noodle cart outside the lower Manhattan courthouse). MrZhu knows many restaurants in Beijing where you can't eat for less than $200/head.

Regarding who the greater "sucker" is MrZhu thinks it is a silly debate. Still, sometimes MrZhu questions why the Central Bank of China loans so much of their tea proceeds to the U.S. mortgage market.