Practical Tea Art

Author: Zi Qitong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Tea is known for its cooling nature and is a beverage. It is suitable for those who value refinement and virtue. If one suffers from heatstroke, stuffiness, headaches, restlessness in limbs, or stiffness in joints, a few sips can rival the richness of cream and nectar. There are nine difficulties in making tea: 1. Cultivation, 2. Differentiation, 3. Vessels, 4. Fire, 5. Water, 6. Roasting, 7. Grinding, 8. Brewing, 9. Drinking. Night picking and daytime roasting are not cultivation; chewing and sniffing are not differentiation; smelly pots and bowls are not vessels; greasy firewood and charcoal are not fire; rushing and stagnant water are not water; unevenly roasted tea is not roasting; green powder and pale dust are not grinding; hasty stirring is not brewing; drinking in summer and abandoning in winter are not drinking. — Excerpted from Lu Yu's The Classic of Tea.
Lu Xun once said, "To have good tea and know how to enjoy it is a kind of refined pleasure. But to enjoy this pleasure, one must first have the patience, and second, a special sensitivity cultivated through practice." Making and drinking tea is something almost everyone can do, but to savor it with taste and truly enjoy the harmonious, soothing, and elegant art of tea brewing, allowing the tea's inherent color, aroma, flavor, and form to shine, is not a simple task. Among the vast tea literature, the small booklet before you only introduces a glimpse of tea culture. Yet from a simple and practical perspective, it guides you into the world of tea, letting you feel the gentle coolness and fragrant blossoms it brings in the scorching summer, and the warmth and mellow sweetness it offers in the cold winter.
"Take time to enjoy tea." This "time" is not merely about leisure but a state of mind free from worldly cares, pure in heart, and calm in spirit. This is exactly what the author wishes to bring to you. Let us share a pot of fine tea together in this noisy and bustling city!