FAQS

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Collectively, this body of work is a labor of love by a global team of artists, who devoted two and half years to bring it to fruition.

All images are authentic, either produced in-house, or licensed from 50+ museums, private or public collections around the world.

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9 Dragons Tea will likely premiere in 2024. Please join our newsletter for email updates on advanced screenings and special events.

This film is a labor of love that took a small team of filmmakers who devoted two and a half years to accomplish. For a glimpse of behind-the-scenes of this historical film, follow @9dragonstea on Facebook and Instagram. We will release lots of pictures and videos on the makings of this documentary.

Tea originated in China thousands of years ago. Read about the ancient history of tea.

Over the millennia, the Chinese have refined the art of tea tasting through various rituals or tea ceremonies, including Zen Tea ceremony, a Buddhist ritual practiced in temples from more than 2,000 years ago; Gong Fu Cha or Gong Fu Tea ceremony, originally invented in the coastal / southern regions of China for tasting Oolong tea. This over 600-year-old tea tasting ritual then spread throughout China and was introduced later by Cantonese tea connoisseurs for tasting of other kinds of teas, including Pu erh tea which is indigenous to Yunnan, China. Read more about how tea tasting evolved throughout the major dynasties in China.

Great question! “How tea was made” was one of the best kept secrets in China prior to the mid 1800s. This is the focal point that drove the British East India Company to steal the ancient Chinese tea secrets. The film 9 Dragons Tea reveals this forgotten case of industrial espionage in full details. Be sure to join our mailing list to receive email updates on the film’s release. Meanwhile, learn more about the traditional Chinese tea making steps that had baffled Europeans for nearly 300 years from the mid 16th through the mid 19th centuries.

Knowing the answer to this fundamental question will earn you kudos amongst tea people.  Learn more about the six types of tea here.

Commercial tea cultivation in Japan started in the mid 1500s. However, tea had taken a few trips from China to Japan since the Tang dynasty (around the 8th century) through Zen Buddhist monks. Read about the fascinating story of the Chinese Song dynasty tradition, Whipped Tea, and how it became Chanoyu, or Cha Do, Japanese Tea Ceremony using matcha as we know it today.

This is indeed a long and evolved story best told by sharing a pot of tea. For now, make yourself a nice cup of tea and read this page to discover for yourself tea’s epic journey from China to the West.

Another fascinating story indeed! The short answer is–watch the film! Visit this page to learn just a bit more for now.

Matcha is an adaptation of Whipped tea, an ancient Chinese tea drinking tradition from the 10th century. Read more about the origin of Matcha here.

Tea drinking comes with many benefits. Learn more on our blog Tea’s Health Benefits By Tea Type.