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Nowadays we associate tea with calm and wellbeing. But this incredibly popular drink has a violent and turbulent history. It’s been a bedfellow of opium, a catalyst for several wars and was the trigger for the world’s first case of industrial espionage. Its murky ascent mirrors the story of colonial expansion and the industrial revolution in the 19th century. It was the lynchpin between two empires – one in decline, the other booming. Its central character – Robert Fortune – was the precursor to James Bond. His incredible journey is history in the making. His weapon is a humble leaf. His life is a tangled web of mystery and subterfuge that sees a dynasty brought to its knees. How could Robert Fortune travel through China unrecognised and unchallenged, while carrying thousands of tea plants? How did he manage to outwit the Emperor’s soldiers and spies and export not only their valuable tea, but also their expert horticulturalists? Why did his wife reduce all his notes to ashes, after his death? Documentary: Tea War: How China’s Tea Was Stolen (2016) Direction: Jérôme Scemla & Charles-Antoine De Rouvre Production: La Compagnie des Taxi-Brousse #fulldocumentary #documentary #film #tea #china #war #espionnage #spying #uk #history #robertfortune #colonialism
