How to Make a Cup of Tea

I made this video after visiting the northern-most city in Laos on the border with China where they have been growing tea for centuries. Where most tea-growing regions trim their tea trees to mere bushes which can be picked by walking along carefully tended footpaths, the people in these mountainous villages practices a far more ancient strategy. Women climb to the upper branches of centuries-old tea trees to pick the young leaves which make the best tea. Huge baskets of leaves are then processed by first cooking the leaves, then sorting out the stems and heavier pieces. The remaining leaves are then left to finish drying in the hot, tropical sun. When preparing the tea itself, the first infusion is poured over the tea board as a part of the ceremony.