In 2025, the traditional retail segment, which encompasses conventional loose-leaf tea and packaged teabags, reached USD 18.38 billion. It is expected to expand at a 7.2% compound annual growth rate from 2026 to 2033.

In the traditional tea market in China, green tea dominates with 59% of the production share in 2025. Black tea (16%), dark tea (12%), and oolong (10%) followed it.

In addition to the traditional tea segment, the tea market is segmented by two other major ones new Chinese-style tea and ready-to-drink (RTD) formats.

The new Chinese-style segment, or freshly prepared beverages made with brewed tea or tea leaves mixed with ingredients like fruit, juice, or dairy, is expanding rapidly. In 2025, it was valued at USD 6.75 billion, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.5% from 2025 to 2033.

Young Chinese consumers are driving this growth as they see the beverages as a mix of lifestyle, cultural, and social engagement.

Domestic ready-to-drink tea consumption accounted for 34.5% of the global total in 2024, and its growth rate exceeded the global average of 8% CAGR from 2021 to 2024. In 2024, RTD accounted for 11% of the consumption share within the market of soft drinks in China.

Source daxueconsulting.comFirsd Tea (Extracts), Courtesy Tea Exporters' Association Sri Lanka