Yeah, the Tieguanyin bubble bust because there was too much of a demand, so farmers had to increase pesticide applications and fertilize heavily to increase production. Plus, leaf appearance (green) is particularly important for light floral TGY, another factor for needing pesticide application.

Trouble is, the soil buildup of pesticide residues, the fact that many TGYs are blends from different farms, plus pesticides accumulate in clay soil, and tea plants have natural tendency to absorb nutrients heavily from the soil - all of those factors meant disaster for TGY market.

In China, even much of the domestic market is afraid to drink TGY. It's also perceived as hurting the stomach - so it's a tea not looked upon favorably now.

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> Wow. If that’s true, it sounds worse than the aftermath of the Pu’er
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> bubble. Maybe it’s a similar phenomenon, though: lots of money suddenly
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> sloshing into a market lacking enough committed consumers to support all
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> that investment/speculation?
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