Akha tea picking

Datu, an Akha man from Baljalpashu village on Bulangshan tea mountain picks leaves from his tea garden, an hour’s walk from the settlement, near Menghai, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. An infrared sensor in the camera differentiates the many degrees of chlorophyll reflectivity of the surrounding trees in this richly bio-diverse habitat. Such diversity stimulates the tea plants to produce chemical compounds for defence, which in turn contribute to its taste and health-giving properties.