Nie Qun. Biography
Nie Qun is the founder and chairman of Tengchong Gaba Tea. He has a background in traditional Chinese medicine and experience studying abroad. For many years, he has worked in tea cultivation, processing and cross-border trade.
His principal focus is developing, producing and internationally promoting GABA tea and high-mountain oolong grown on Tengchong’s volcanic soils.
Traditions and education
Nie Qun has known tea culture since childhood. His family preserved traditions of preparing and selling tea from generation to generation, awakening his interest in the tea industry.
In 1998, he entered the Jiangxi School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, studying basic medical theories, plant properties and the relationship between nutrients and human health.
After completing his education in China, he continued his studies at Pacific National University in Russia. While abroad, he became fluent in Russian, learned about the culture, consumer habits and business practices of Russian-speaking countries, and gained practical international trading experience.
Returning to Tengchong
During his studies and travels abroad, Nie Qun noticed sustained demand in Russian-speaking markets for functional, beneficial teas, particularly GABA tea with high GABA content. At the same time, he recognised the unique terroir on the western slopes of the Gaoligong Mountains in Tengchong: plantations at 2,300–2,500 metres are ideally suited to producing high-quality GABA tea material.
Having analysed the properties of tea leaves, processing technology and overseas market prospects, Nie Qun decided to return to Tengchong, Yunnan Province, and develop high-mountain tea cultivation on its unique volcanic soils.
In 2024, Nie Qun founded Tengchong Gaba Tea. The company is located in Tengchong’s volcanic region, where tea plantations lie at 2,300–2,500 metres above sea level.
Plantations and production
Nie Qun follows ecological farming principles: physical pest control, manual weeding and organic fertilisers reduce the use of chemicals and preserve the plantations’ natural ecosystem. In processing, he leads a specialist team developing anaerobic fermentation adapted to local tea leaves, and refines GABA tea production to maintain consistent quality and reveal the mineral flavour imparted by volcanic soil.
In managing the company, Nie Qun pays close attention to product standards and oversees every stage: plantation care, young-leaf harvesting, initial processing and finished-tea inspection.
Partners and the company’s future
He actively participates in international exhibitions, including the Moscow International Food Exhibition, and builds relationships with distributors from Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other Russian-speaking countries. Beyond this region, he is exploring European and American markets and plans to attend major international tea exhibitions to gradually expand the global sales network. In Nie Qun’s view, the principal competitive advantage of Tengchong tea is the unique terroir of its high-mountain volcanic soils.
He aims to develop specialised agriculture based on local natural resources, without pursuing unjustified increases in production volume: consistently high tea quality comes first. With overseas partners, he follows principles of honesty and practicality, maintains regular contact with distributors, takes account of end-consumer feedback, and continually improves products and service.
As the leader of a local tea enterprise, Nie Qun helps create jobs in plantation care and leaf harvesting, and supports exports of local agricultural products. He plans to continue developing GABA tea and high-mountain fresh oolong on volcanic soils, improve cultivation and processing technology, and build a stable international dealer network. His goal is to introduce consumers worldwide to Tengchong’s high-mountain volcanic tea and support the sustainable development of the local tea industry.
