David Lee Hoffman - All In This Tea (2007)
English | Avi | Xvid | 714x478 | 29.97fps | 4:3 | 1499kbps | Mp3 256kbps | 878Mb
Genre: Documentary

I have been developing my own palette for tea over the last 5 or 6 years and the pure joy I feel upon smelling and then tasting a high quality tea prepared me to relish this film in ways that might not be possible to the casual viewer. Watching David "shop" for tea in the rural streets and urban tea warehouses is like watching a good cooking show, you get hungry while you watch. With this movie, you long to be able to stick your own nose in the big bags of tea David smells and sip along with the tasters assembled at his tasting parties.

And I have to say the camera work is excellent, as is the editing. There are lots of cuts and multiple threads to the documentary, but it all works to create a feeling of wonder and appreciation that these techniques and methods have been preserved and renewed as a result of David's tenacity in the face of Chinese bureaucracy, protectionism, and reluctance to change how tea is sold.

The film shows everything from the picking of the buds, to the hand (and foot) massaging of the buds and leaves over heat, the careful and almost loving attention the tea masters show towards the process, and the respect and enthusiasm tea drinkers share over the final products. I realized how many hands have intimately touched the tea, realized that my own tea (Golden Monkey being my current favorite), has not only passed through many hands, but has been touched by many hands.

I also like that this film shows people drinking tea, the pots, techniques, and traditions, but it is not, perhaps sadly - perhaps not, a "how to make tea" film. There is so much to learn, and this is not an instructional video, it is a peek into the secretive world of a tea buyer, and a presentation of an ideal and idealized world of tea enjoyment. It is in this way, visionary. It presents images to inspire and infect people with a love of the drink. I learned a lot from the film, but also was motivated to learn more, practice different ways of preparing tea, and, of course, try more teas.

Towards the end of the film David is giving tea to some tea tasters and he says, "I have been trying to brew a good tea for years, and I finally got it right." The satisfaction in his eyes and the appreciation in the drinkers' eyes reminded me of a priest and worshipers at a holy shrine. If you are not already initiated into this tea religion, this film could be your baptism.