Rain rain go away. Well
at least the plants in my garden have been very happy recently. My very first strawberry decided to make an appearance
this week and everything has been growing quite fast. All this dreariness is making me just want to
hide my head under the covers. Today
I decided to finally watch two tea documentaries,…All In This Tea and The
Meaning Of Tea. Both were quite
different and enjoyable. But before I
could sit down and watch two films back to back I need make myself
comfortable. First and most importantly,
I must choose the correct tea or teas. I
picked out a lovely ceremonial grade matcha and also our amazing Wild Purple
Buds Puerh. Next, I must find my favorite fuzzy blanket
and make my way to my ugly reclining chair.
This is a chair so ugly that when my husband and I saw it in the
showroom we mocked it from across the room.
As a joke we decided to sit in it but that is when we fell in love with
what has to be the most comfortable chair in the world. Now that I was ready it was time to watch the
first documentary, The Meaning of Tea.
I have been looking forward to seeing this documentary for a
while. I just never got around to
purchasing it. There were so many
beautiful and visually stunning images.
The intro alone had me in a relaxed state. The Meaning of Tea presented a number of diverse
cultures and I felt like I was transported to Morocco, India, Taiwan, France,
China, and Japan. There were also a
variety of people interviewed, including: tea tasters, estate managers, farm workers,
processors, a tea master, a factory supervisor, shop owners, etc. I would have liked to see a little more depth
of certain interviews, particularly from some of the knowledgeable tea experts
and I certainly could live without a few of the segments. The South Dakota segment didn’t add anything
new and the tea is sexy segment was just bad.
Even without those sections there were others that just weren’t
necessary or were awkward. Besides those
complaints, I really enjoyed this documentary.
There was one quote from Fu-Chin Chang that stuck with me “once you’re
surrounded by nature, you feel like you’ve been embraced. There are lots of things that the city can’t
provide. It’s not something you can buy
with money. Many things in nature
require time and observation for you to understand.” That’s something that feel is very true. Slowing down and enjoying nature is something
that I have been more focused on in the last few years and it has certainly
grounded me more. This dvd comes with a
lot of special features worth checking out.
After a short break, I was now ready for round 2. I threw …All In This Tea in the dvd player
and made my way back to my ugly chair and fuzzy blanket. This documentary features David Lee Hoffman,
an American tea importer, as he searches out for great tea in China. This film was a bit dated but it reveals some
of the politics behind the business of tea in China at the time. We also get to take a look at tea being
processed, farmers, and various business transactions all with some information
on tea interspersed throughout. Like
The Meaning of Tea, there was a number of very visual moments in this dvd that
really translated some of the tea culture to the viewer. Some of the visuals were quite breathtaking. I loved how James Norwood Pratt mentioned
that tea was a living archeology. That
essentially we can be transported in time by drinking tea. Some people throughout time could have
drank a tea that was very similar to what we drink now. I know that could be said about many things,
but it’s just a very interesting thought.
In one clip David had mentioned that with puerh you either love it or
you hate it. I used to believe that as
well, but the more people I talk to the more I feel that puerh is really
something that you can learn to appreciate.
All it takes is the right puerh to intrigue someone to explore more
puerhs.
There was also an emphasis on promoting small farms, rewarding
producers of high quality tea, and using organic and sustainable methods. This documentary made me think about how
sometimes as consumers, we just aren’t always responsible about what we choose
to buy. I don’t mean this just for tea
but for everything. Do we always take
the time to make sure everything we buy won’t negatively impact our environment
or that the workers are paid fairly or that we buy products from small
businesses? I really enjoyed this
documentary and of the two this one was more informative but both have their merits. There really wasn’t a lot of overlap between
the two videos. I’m glad I finally got
to see both of those documentaries.
Anyone else see them?
-Stacy