Tuesday, January 11, 2011

All in This Tea (2007) Review


In my pursuit of learning more about tea I came across the film, All in This Tea (2007). It is a documentary style film that follows the renown American tea pioneer David Lee Hoffman throughout a trip to China in his pursuit of some of the highest quality teas. What the film shows is quiet amazing.

David Lee Hoffman goes to buy directly from the farmers who are struggling, yet farmers he considers to be skilled and create high quality teas. After all, tea is just as much about art as it is about drink. Handcrafted teas can not be made to be the same quality by different tea craftsmen. Each “artist” creates his own masterpiece which factories and mass production can't come close to in quality and taste.

It was interesting to see the Chinese culture portrayed in this film. To my surprise it was difficult for Mr. Hoffman to do business in China the way that would benefit both the Chinese exporter and himself as the importer. The Chinese bureaucracy caused it to be difficult because of export rules. However, thankfully, it worked out in the end. There are tidbits of tea information scattered throughout, which also make this film a great learning resource. It is a fantastic film and any tea connoisseur will thoroughly enjoy it.

Perhaps my favorite quote in the film is this: “It [tea] has qualities that are not familiar to us, and we don't have a vocabulary to describe what it is. I never know how to say what a tea tastes like. I know when I enjoy it. But I can't say what it tastes like.” This film definitely inspired me to learn more tea and drink more tea. So that I will do.

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