The Meaning of Tea

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Tea has been bringing peace, calm, health, friendship, and wisdom into people's lives for 5,000 years. The Meaning of Tea is a journey on film, and a collection of interviews recorded in several countries throughout the world. It travels to the tea gardens of present day Darjeeling, India, to visits with tea company executives and footage of the Japanese tea ceremony in modern day Japan, and in Northern Taiwan it offers a glimpse into the lives of tea growers, tea pluckers, tea masters, tea musicians, a teapot maker, teenage tea drinkers, and traditional tea lovers. Interviews in England, Ireland, France, and Morocco are also featured, as well as the lives of people living in Tea, South Dakota, USA.

The rituals and ceremony of tea, enjoyed in myriad cultures, is portrayed as a kind of global connective tissue. Within this common thread is a weaving-together of individual stories of tea in people's lives. Ultimately, the inherent question that underlies this expedition is whether tea has "meaning," particularly in a world increasingly influenced by mass-marketing, fast food, and corporate coffee giants. The film also examines the role that certain forces play in threatening the survival of tea and its cultural significance, while supporting the imperative to take a stronger interest in tea in modern society that is fast losing its connection to the earth.

This artistically rendered film embraces the essential spirit of tea, and its original score complements many of the scenes shot around the globe.

Watch a trailer for The Meaning of Tea:

Join the discussion: Are tea rituals still relevant in a modern world? What roles does tea play in your life? Shop AsiaStore for The Meaning of Tea