David Lee Hoffman

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David Lee Hoffman
Born (1944-08-08) August 8, 1944 (age 81)
Oakland, California, U.S.
OccupationsTea importer, tea merchant, builder
Known forFounding Silk Road Tea Company; subject of documentary All in This Tea; creator of The Last Resort

David Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1944) is an American tea importer and merchant known for founding the Silk Road Tea Company and for being the subject of the documentary film All in This Tea, which follows him on tea-buying trips in China. [1] [2] He also created The Last Resort, a self-built compound in Lagunitas, California incorporating ecological design features such as water reuse, composting toilets, and vermiculture; the Last Resort Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2024. [3] [4]

Contents

Early life

Hoffman was born in Oakland, California, and enrolled at San Jose State University in 1962 to study engineering and physics before leaving in 1963 to travel. [4]

Tea career

The draft National Register nomination for The Last Resort states that Hoffman became acquainted with loose-leaf tea during extended travel in Asia (1963–1972). [4] It also states that he founded an organic specialty tea import business, the Silk Road Tea Company, in 1992, and later started a second tea business, the Phoenix Tea Company, in 2009. [4] Reviews of All in This Tea described Hoffman traveling in China to buy tea directly from small growers and producers. [1] [5]

The Last Resort

Hoffman bought property in Lagunitas in the early 1970s and constructed a complex of buildings and landscape features using recycled materials and on-site water and waste systems. [6] [4] In 2024 the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Last Resort Historic District. [3] That year, the Point Reyes Light reported that the property was under a court-appointed receiver amid a long-running permitting and building-code dispute with Marin County, and that preservation organizations had expressed interest in helping preserve the site. [6]

Filmography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Turan, Kenneth (March 14, 2008). "'All in This Tea'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
  2. ↑ "Silk Road Detours". East Bay Express. December 12, 2007. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
  3. 1 2 "Weekly List 2024 03 29". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 The Last Resort Historic District (Draft National Register of Historic Places Registration Form) (PDF) (Report). California Office of Historic Preservation. December 2023. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
  5. ↑ Hillis, Aaron (June 24, 2008). "All In This Tea: Les Blank's Return". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2011-08-05. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
  6. 1 2 Stocking, Ben (June 19, 2024). "Flush nonprofits show interest in Hoffman's Last Resort". Point Reyes Light. Retrieved 2025-12-06.
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