This film follows world-renowned tea expert David Lee Hoffman to remote regions of China in search of the best handmade teas in existence. As a tea importer, Hoffman’s obsession with this ancient beverage led him from “insipid tea bags in America” to far-flung tea regions in Asia. In the process, he discovered the rarity of good, handmade tea, especially in China, where the ancient craft of making tea has been giving way to mass production. Tea-making secrets have been handed down through generations of tea makers over thousands of years. In this, his first digitally shot film, Les Blank takes his famous fly-on-the-wall approach. The film moves from modern, urban settings to a pastoral China rarely glimpsed by westerners. Scenes shot in cinema véritéare interwoven with more formal presentations about the fundamentals of tea. 

Produced & Directed by Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht
Edited by Gina Leibrecht
70 minutes
2007