BD Now! Podcast 014 David Lee Hoffman: Tea Explorer, Importer, and Popularizer, Expert in Soil Building and Sustainable living

ALL IN THIS TEA

Crusading American tea importer David Lee Hoffman supports China's endangered organic farmers by searching out fine, chemical-free teas for sale to the American quality tea market, a market of Mr Hoffman's creation.

Mr. Hoffman, who has been called the Indiana Jones of tea, may be the ultimate do-it-yourselfer. But the county has issues with the 30 or so structures he has built over the years.

"My love of the planet is greater than my fear of the law" David Lee Hoffman

He's been called "The Indiana Jones of Tea" by nothing less than The New York Times, more accurately, though, he's the best candidate I've seen for the title of "The Worlds Most Interesting Man." 

Here's just a few of his qualifications for that title:

As a young man, invented a unique sonic cleaning system for cleaning valueable ancient textiles, artifacts and fine art that is used to this day by major museums

Spent over 10 years as a consciencous objecter wandering over 100 countries

He was amongst the first Americans to visit the remote Tibetan kingdom of Dolpo.

In the early 1960s, Hoffman befriended the Dalai Lama while living in Dharamshala, India. Several Tibetan monks have contributed to the construction and creation of Hoffman's eastern-inspired sustainable research center in Lagunitas, California, which he calls "The Last Resort".[1]

Met and became a friend of  His Holiness, the Dali Lama while living in Dharamshala, India

Started the first quality tea companies in America and pretty much started the modern Tea Movement in the US, single handed finding quality artisinal organic teas in remote areas of China (well before China loosened up), importating them in the US and then conducting 'tea tastings' across the country promoting knowledge of team among Americans and awakening many of today's tea gurus to the wonders of quality tea

He became known in China as the “the American Pu-erh Tea King"

Sold his tea company and started growing heirloom grains and doing artisinal baking. 

Started a new tea company for which he hunts for teas, imports and sell wholesale and direct over the internet

 He is the subject of filmmaker Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht’s 2007 documentary All In This Tea

 As an architect he designed and continues to build THE LAST RESORT, an environmental model of sustainable and harmonious living that attempts to assimilate both natural methods from the past with modern know-how to create a living system that effectively demonstrates possibilities of thriving in a non-polluting healthy environment. Its mission is to discover and perfect practical low-cost sustainable methods for waste management, water re-use, and food security.

 Was trained by acrobats from Circques Sole on how to safely install tiles on the highest roof 

  Several Tibetan monks  contributed to the construction and creation of "The Last Resort"

  Probably the the most interesting: Marin County wants over $200,000 from David Lee Hoffman right now to pay for 40 years of failing to get permits for his projects - - or licensing for his tea businesses