China’s national treasure, the giant panda, will become even more precious if one businessman succeeds in using their dung to grow organic green tea, which he intends to sell for over $200 a cup.

An Yanshi, an entrepreneur in southwest China grows the tea in mountainous Ya’an in Siachuan province using tons of excrement from panda bears living at nearby breeding centres.

The first batch of panda dung tea will be sold in lots of 50 gms. that will cost some 22,000 Yuan each, a price, Mr. An said, which makes it the world’s most expensive tea. Most people use about 3 gms of tea per cup.

Mr. An defended the steep price, saying he would channel profits from the initial batches into an environmental fund. Future batches would be cheaper, he added.

“I thank heaven and earth for blessing us with this environmental panda tea.” The 41 year old former teacher and journalist said at a weekend event to promote the tea. “I just want to convey to the people of the world the message of turning waste into something useful, and the culture of recycling and using organic fertilizers.”