Chinese entrepreneur An Yanshi is convinced he has found the key ingredient to produce the world’s most expensive tea — panda poo.

An has purchased 11 tonnes of excrement from a panda breeding centre to fertilise a tea crop in the mountains of Sichuan province, home to the black and white bears.

He will harvest the first batch of tea leaves this spring and it will be the “world’s most expensive tea” at almost 220,000 yuan ($35,000) for 500 grams (18 ounces).

Chinese tea drinkers regard the first batch of tea to be harvested in the early spring as the best and successive batches, regarded as inferior, will sell for 20,000 yuan.

The 41-year-old, who dressed in a panda suit for his interview, has been ridiculed by some in China for his extravagant claims of the potential health benefits of the tea.

But he insists he is deadly serious, saying he quit his job at Sichuan University to throw himself “heart and soul” into his company, Panda Tea, whose logo features a smiling panda wearing a bow tie and holding a steaming glass of green tea.

Despite the online detractors of his yet-to-be-tested tea, An said he remained undeterred and was already thinking about expanding his business.