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There aren’t many documentaries about tea, so I’ve been eagerly following updates from 9 Dragons Tea on their film project on social media. Tea: The Drink That Changed The World Movie Review is finally available to purchase on Amazon Prime so I just had to watch it. In this post, I’ll be sharing my review of this exciting new documentary.
What is Tea: The Drink That Changed The World about?
Tea: The Drink That Changed The World stars Christy Hui and noted tea historian Bruce Richardson. Christy also wrote, directed, and produced the film. The primary focus is on China, particularly the Wuyi Mountains and Da Hong Pao. Everything from Shennong to Robert Fortune and beyond in the history of tea is explored in an approachable and engaging way. Make sure to have subtitles turned on! There are many interesting interviews with Chinese tea producers and experts.
There are many beautiful landscape scenes of tea-producing areas as well as interesting historical prints, some of which I had not seen before. Bruce Richardson’s commentary peppered throughout lent a historical perspective. One of my favorite sections was chapter 3 because it showed the complex processing of oolong tea. Seeing how much effort goes into it really gives you an appreciation for every cup you drink.
A lot of early American tea history and the Opium War were both covered in detail. The end of the documentary talks a bit about how colonial tea cultivation developed in India, Sri Lanka, and Kenya before a philosophical look at how tea brings us all together.
Would I Recommend It?
I would definitely recommend watching Tea: The Drink That Changed The World, especially if you enjoy tea as much as I do. The film would also appeal to those who aren’t hardened tea heads if the comments on Amazon are any indication. I loved reading through them to see everyone’s surprise about how fascinating the history of tea is. I do think there was a missed opportunity to choose a different title as there is already a well-known tea book by the same name.
Since the focus is on Chinese tea I think it’s important to note that things are largely viewed through that lens. It would be impossible to cover every single aspect of tea history, but they did a good job covering a large portion of it. There is certainly more than enough material here to pique the viewer’s interest and lead them down the rabbit hole to further learning.
At the time of publishing this review, the cost on Amazon Prime for this film is $2.99 to rent it for 48 hours or $9.99 to buy it. I chose to buy it so that I can refer back to it whenever I want in the future.
Have you watched Tea: The Drink That Changed The World yet? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
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