Educational Media Reviews Online

With All in This Tea, documentarian Les Blank returns to a subject he is well known for exploring - the intertwining of food and culture. Blank and co-director Gina Leibrecht follow David Lee Hoffman, an American tea importer, as he roams China seeking out artisan teas. Through this journey both the factual and mythological histories of tea in China unfold.

In the late 1960's drought, coupled with years of political & social upheaval, led to a collapse of the tea industry. When the Chinese government stepped in to revitalize the market, many of the customary approaches to production were substantially altered. Chemical fertilizers were introduced to boost production, large tea factories were built to streamline growth and cultivation, and as a result, independent tea farmers became separated from the larger production and trade process. Hoffman's pursuit throughout the film is to find and champion those small farmers still using organic growing methods and traditional harvesting practices. A sweeping overview of China's modern tea industry is revealed through Hoffman's tour of numerous tea districts, remote farms, modern factories and even business meetings with tea industry executives.

An interesting cultural friction is felt throughout the film. Hoffman's desire to do business in a candid, overtly Western manner is not received well by the seemingly inflexible nature of China’s governmental, business and class structures. Dealing directly with the small farmers proves nearly impossible and Hoffman is sent into frequent state of exasperation from the bureaucracy involved in buying and exporting.

Ultimately, All in This Tea is a film about one man's love affair with a tradition he fears is vanishing. When Hoffman is visited at his California home by filmmaker Werner Herzog, the two share a cup of the organically grown, artisanal tea brought over from China. Herzog waxes romantic about how the experience of walking through the forests, with its entire ambiance, is contained within this particular cup of tea and it becomes clear his statement is vocalizing the underlying emotions that drive Hoffman to his line of work.

All in This Tea provides an intriguing look at agricultural and business practices in China. Highly recommended for collections with an interest in food studies, and more generally recommended for use in anthropology, studies on modern China, environmental science, and business studies.