In 2021, what drinks did young people like the most? Recently, in the 'Z100 Young People's Top 100 Domestic Products List' released by Bilibili, Nongfu Spring's Oriental Leaf unsweetened tea beverage topped the food and beverage category. In the '2021 Zhihu High-Praise Good Products 100' list released by Zhihu, Oriental Leaf's Green Mandarin Peel Pu'er tea was also selected in the food and beverage category. This year, this unsweetened tea beverage became extremely popular, even being hailed by young people as 'yyds' (the eternal god). The highest-liked comment on Zhihu called it 'a product with forward-thinking awareness, in line with Nongfu Spring's brand characteristics, and with high-tech content.' So, how did Oriental Leaf, once rated as the 'most bland' beverage, manage to make a comeback? **From the Sweet Wave to the Rise of Sugar-Free Health Concept: Oriental Leaf as a Driver From the sweet wave of sugary flavored teas to the arrival of the sugar-free consumption trend, the shift in how people view tea beverages reflects a change in lifestyle. Just as this passage condenses time and space, China's sugar-free tea beverages have also gone through a long and tortuous journey, with some falling behind, some arriving later, and some persevering. The most legendary among sugar-free teas is undoubtedly Oriental Leaf, which proposed the product concept of 0 sugar, 0 calories, 0 fat, 0 flavorings, and 0 preservatives a decade ago. Now it has solidified its position as the number one brand in sugar-free tea, and this year it has doubled its growth, becoming the biggest topic in the beverage industry. Rather than saying that sugar-free tea has finally caught the wind, it is more accurate to say that Oriental Leaf knew from the beginning where the wind would blow, and stood at the center of it in advance, with a decade of deep cultivation and persistence, driving the arrival of the trend. China's tea beverage market started in 1993, from Xurisheng iced tea to Kangshifu iced black tea, and later many other tea beverage brands, most of which were sugary tea beverages. But two events in 2011 were quite meaningful in hindsight. That year, Uni-President's sugar-free tea 'Chaliwang', launched in 2004, lost the competition against sugary teas and withdrew from the mainland market. But another story also began: that year, the sugar-free tea beverage 'Oriental Leaf' was launched under pressure. **Oriental Leaf's Only Direction: Restoring the Authenticity of Chinese Tea In that era, a 'not sweet' beverage was an untimely thing; the primary consideration for consumers when choosing a beverage was whether it was 'refreshing enough.' In the first few years after its launch, Oriental Leaf suffered 'cold treatment.' A former Oriental Leaf promotion manager recalled that the team did tastings in various places in extreme weather, but few were interested. But within Oriental Leaf, they remained unmoved. For a long time, the Oriental Leaf team members had a natural fanaticism and sense of mission about water and tea, from top management to the experts and researchers in the entire laboratory, all being deep enthusiasts of traditional Chinese tea. Therefore, from the beginning, Oriental Leaf was clear about its mission: to produce a sugar-free tea beverage that restores the original flavor of traditional Chinese tea. On the other hand, it was a commitment to the 'natural, healthy' philosophy established at the company's founding. Looking at global beverage industry trends, the health represented by sugar-free is bound to become a mainstream value. In Nongfu Spring's view, sugary tea cannot represent the quality and spirit of Chinese tea. The only direction Nongfu Spring set for Oriental Leaf was to restore the authenticity of Chinese tea. This meant that at a time when sugary beverages were prevalent, Oriental Leaf had to dare to 'subtract' from its ingredients, becoming a pure, original, and healthy tea beverage with a 'clean label' that focuses on the essence of tea. This was undoubtedly a 'difficult but correct' thing. **Persisting in Difficult but Correct Things: Oriental Leaf First to Achieve 'Five Zeros' Challenges followed. First, there are many types of Chinese tea, and tea-drinking habits and culture vary by region. How to make a tea beverage that is accepted by the majority but can also represent Chinese tea? The Oriental Leaf R&D team made countless attempts. Many well-known local tea varieties could not maintain their original flavor during the beverage-making process; at least 90% of formulas and flavors were eliminated during testing. Antioxidation was also a challenge. To prevent the tea from oxidizing during storage, which would weaken the taste and darken the color, most companies, including the pioneer of ready-to-drink tea, Japan's Ito En, use fully wrapped bottles to ensure light protection. But Oriental Leaf wanted consumers to enjoy the complete experience of 'seeing the tea color, smelling the tea aroma, and tasting the tea flavor.' After hundreds of experiments, Oriental Leaf developed a unique transparent bottle antioxidant technology, maximizing the preservation of the ritual and pleasure of traditional Chinese tea tasting. Someone once commented on Oriental Leaf: 'A product with forward-thinking awareness that doesn't make money but has never been cut.' When people thought Oriental Leaf would fade into obscurity like previous sugar-free teas, it began its path of counterattack and quietly occupied a large share of the sugar-free tea market. The technical obsession allowed Oriental Leaf to achieve high product quality. In 2010, the Oriental Leaf team mastered log6 aseptic technology. Log6 is a standard for microbial control, meaning that in producing one million bottles, not one bottle would be contaminated by microorganisms. Even today, most domestic beverage production lines can only achieve the log5 standard. Oriental Leaf chose aseptic production, first to avoid adding preservatives, ensuring the pure taste of sugar-free tea, and also to upgrade the beverage process of the entire industry by a large step. Because of this 'forward-thinking' production line, Oriental Leaf stood at the industry's commanding height from its inception, being the first to achieve the 'five zeros' standard: 0 sugar, 0 fat, 0 calories, 0 flavorings, and 0 preservatives. The Next Decade: Continuing to Revive Chinese Tea Now, Oriental Leaf is setting its sights on the next decade, which is full of both opportunities and challenges. According to incomplete statistics, there are currently over 40 mainstream sugar-free tea beverages on the market—the number of players in the sugar-free tea track is increasing. But Oriental Leaf still maintains its own pace. In addition to its commitment to quality, Oriental Leaf differs from other brands that are keen to stimulate the market with new products; instead, it is quite cautious about new products. In 2021, on its tenth anniversary, Oriental Leaf finally launched three new flavors: Green Mandarin Peel Pu'er, Genmaicha, and Osmanthus Oolong. Clearly, Oriental Leaf does not use the currently popular methods of trial-and-error or horse racing to launch new products. In the view of Oriental Leaf's R&D personnel, trying and erroring on consumers is disrespectful to them, and pushing products that they are not confident about is a desecration of their profession. But some changes are also happening. Just as in the previous decade Oriental Leaf patiently waited and cultivated user habits, now Oriental Leaf is striving to use the next decade to make young Chinese people fall in love with Chinese tea. On Zhihu and Xiaohongshu, more and more young people are being 'planted' by Oriental Leaf, with comments like 'a conscientious domestic beverage' and 'I drank 6 boxes in one summer'... Oriental Leaf has also gained wave after wave of 'Oriental Leaf devotees.' Just like the previous decade, Oriental Leaf is winning over a new generation of young consumers. In the surging wave of sugar-free, its bigger explosion period may not have truly arrived yet. For Chinese brands and consumers, a revival movement for Chinese tea is just beginning. Are you 'watching' me?