Tea Classic

Author: Lu Yu (Tang Dynasty) / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-06-01
Features: For drinking, there are whole tea leaves, loose tea, ground tea, and compressed tea. These require cutting, boiling, roasting, and grinding before being stored in jars. Boiled water is poured over them, called "soaking tea." Some add scallions, ginger, jujubes, tangerine peels, schisandra, mint, etc., and boil them for a hundred boils, stirring to make them smooth or skimming the foam. This is nothing but ditch water, yet customs persist. Alas! Heaven has nurtured all things, each with its own perfection, yet what humans excel at is only the shallow and easy. The shelter we live in is the pinnacle of houses; the clothes we wear are the pinnacle of garments; the food and drink we consume are the pinnacle of sustenance. Tea has nine difficulties: the first is crafting, the second is distinguishing, the third is utensils, the fourth is fire, the fifth is water, the sixth is roasting, the seventh is grinding, the eighth is boiling, and the ninth is drinking. Night picking and evening roasting are not crafting; chewing and sniffing are not distinguishing; rancid pots and fishy cups are not utensils; greasy firewood and charcoal are not fire; rushing rapids and stagnant water are not water; outside cooked and inside raw are not roasting; green powder and pale dust are not grinding; hurriedly stirring is not boiling; summer brewing and winter abandoning are not drinking. For the finest and most fragrant, use three bowls; for the next best, use five bowls. If the number of seated guests reaches five, serve three bowls; if seven, serve five bowls; if there are six or fewer, do not count bowls but leave one empty, and serve the best to fill the gap. P36-37