An Yanshi (pictured in suitable attire) has turned panda poo into tea that costs a staggering 440,000 yuan (£46,000) per kilogram
Chinese entrepreneur and university lecturer An Yanshi has been making a type of luxury tea with panda droppings for six years.
In 2011, Mr An bought 11 tons of excrement from a panda breeding centre in Sichuan province in south-west China. He then used it to grow tea leaves in Ya’an, also in Sichuan Province.
The tea is known as ‘panda tea’.
The first pick, which is harvested in March, could sell for a staggering 440,000 yuan (£46,000) per kilogram.
Mr An promised drinkers they could expect ‘a mature and nutty taste’.
He said: ‘Pandas have a very poor digestive system and only absorb about 30 per cent of everything they eat.
‘That means their excrement is rich in fibres and nutrients.
‘Just like green tea, bamboo contains an element that can prevent cancer.’