- Tracing Tea
Tracing Tea is a documentary about history and culture of
tea production and consumption in Asia and Europe. Produced byMaximum Exposure Productions , the focus of the series will be on a driving expedition fromDarjeeling , the spiritual home of tea inIndia , back to the UK, the drink's greatest importer. The journey, which covers some 10,000 miles (16,000km), will use two modified Indianauto rickshaw s and aims to achieve two world records: a) the longest journey ever completed in atuk-tuk and b) the world's highesttea party - on top ofPakistan 's Khunjerap pass (4693m) [ "Café Culture", March 2007 ] [citeweb| url = http://www.foodeast.com/news/newsarchive/news3954.asp | title = Students plan 10,000-mile tea break | author = Food East | accessdate = 2008-07-06] .Route
The official route comprises seventeen different countries as follows: India, Pakistan, China (Xinjiang province), Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, France and finally Britain. The filming begins in July 2008 and will run until February the following year.
Programme content
In each country, the series will look at how tea is produced and consumed, and how over the centuries, particularly in traditionally Islamic societies, the consumption of tea has become not just a drink but an elaborate social institution. Tea producing countries to be covered: India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and even the UK (Devon). Concurrently, the documentary will present themes and sights on a wider theme, from Islamic Architecture in Iran and Turkish cuisine to nomadic sports in Central Asia. Central to all the above will be the 'reality' element, following the progress of the three presenters as they battle terrain, the elements and the mechanical implications of doing the journey in auto-rickshaws.
Team
The core crew comprises the director, Max Lovell-Hoare, his assistant, Sophie Ibbotson and three presenters, Amelia Guild, Andrew Daynes and Sam Datta-Paulin. Andrew Daynes has already made a five-month reconnoitre of the route in reverse, with a team of three, using a London taxi ["The eclectic", February 2008 ] . The production team includes award-winning Canadian cinematographer Marlon Paul and acclaimed Indian director of photography Faroukh Mistry, with Duncan McDade as editor.
External links
[http://www.tracingtea.com Expedition website]
References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
