Screening: The Bitter Taste of Tea

The UCLA Asia Institute is pleased to present a film screening and discussion forum on tea and fair trade Wednesday, January 20.

The Bitter Taste of Tea:
A Journey into the World of Fair Trade
The film screening will be followed by a
forum on tea and fair trade.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
6:30-8:00
James Bridges Theater, 1409 Melnitz, UCLA

The Bitter Taste of Tea travels to tea estates in Sri Lanka, Kenya, India, and Bangladesh—some traditional, some fair trade—to expose unsafe work environments and labor exploitation. Finding little meaningful difference between fair trade and non-fair trade operations, questions arise: Are fair trade organizations such as the E.U.’s Max Havelaar Foundation being duped by tea growers? Or are growers doing the best they can in a brutal industry and a market that has yet to demand the quantities of fair trade tea that would create meaningful trickle-down profits for their workers? It is left to the viewer to weigh the arguments and decide.


Canadian Tea Gifts
RedUmbrella Tea, Canada’s Loose Leaf Tea Co.