| A TEA TIME TOPIC Tea Harvest and Processing in Ceylon | ||
|---|---|---|
| This clip is not available for streaming at this time. Please contact WPA. | Tape Master: | 6767 |
| Catalog #: | 434540 | |
| Clip Number: | 434540-1 | |
| Orginal Film: | EP 215 | |
| Timecode: | ||
| Location: | Ceylon (Sri Lanka) | |
| Year Shot: | 1931 (Actual Year) | |
| Audio: | No | |
| Color: | No | |
| Headings: | FARMING: Tea INDUSTRY: Beverages | |
| Description: | A TEA-TIME TOPIC Tea growing and picking in Ceylon. Ceylon. "Day in, day out, Eve is busy on the great tea plantations of Ceylon - plucking the tender leaves. (Only the three top leaves are taken, in the best tea)." Opening shot either upside down or reflection in lake. L/S of plantation. WS lake, clouds, long boxy building. WS many workers in white bent over among tea plants on hillside, mountain in BG. MS Ceylonese children sitting in rows on the ground, each with a bowl. Adult comes along dropping some sort of food into each bowl. These are the children of the tea workers, so it seems they have on-site day care! MS row of women in saris with long white scarves hanging over their hair. They sit on ground, each with a pile of tea leaves and a basket in front of her. They seem to be sorting the leaves and tossing them into the baskets. Woman pours leaves into a basket to be weighed. MLS woman dumps her basketful of leaves into a bigger basket hanging from a pole held up by 2 men. This seems to be a scale. Foreman in white jacket and helmet oversees the weighing. Panning shot of large number of women at work picking leaves. LS pan on field, workers in between rows of bushes; tall trees in BG. "Sorting, and giving things a weigh - " "Meanwhile, whilst Ma works, the kiddies are being well looked after." "There are three ways of getting the leaves to the factory - modern lorry." M/S of sacks of tea leaves being loaded onto a lorry. LS the workers carry heavy bags and load them on truck. "This old style." "But, in the end, Eve does the last stage." Short shot of two women walking up stairway. Very brief MCU of women climbing steps - waist level view. "Once inside, the leaves are withered on "tats" - " "Stalks and foreign matter are eliminated." "And sifters of every sort get to work." In tea processing plant. C/U of machinery which sifts the leaves. MS machinery in plant with ground up tea leaves trickling out. M/S of other machines at work in the warehouse. LS in plant: men in turbans operating machinery in FG, while in BG women workers sit in floor along walls of open windows; the women seem to be sifting tea leaves. "An important factor in tea is blending - and here the expert tasters step in." L/S of two tea tasters at work walking down a line of teas. Closer shot of the men tasting spoonfuls of tea then spitting it out. MLS 2 British men examining row of samples while another (Ceylonese?) man takes notes; these guys are expert tea tasters who determine the optimum blend. MS the tasters. "And when the blends are settled, and the tea packed, away it goes on its long journey to wherever a teapot waits." | |
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