"When it first boils, with fish-eye bubbles and a faint sound, that is the first boil; when the rim seethes like linked pearls, the second; when it surges like waves, the third. Be
"The buds that sprout from dense thickets, with three, four, or five shoots, are picked by selecting those that rise most boldly."
"The cheng base, also called tai or zhen, is made of stone; otherwise of locust or mulberry wood, half-buried in the ground so that it will not rock."
"The good and ill of tea rest in the transmitted oral formula."
"The chuan string is made in Jiangdong and Huainan from split bamboo, and in Bashan and the gorges from twisted mulberry-bark. In Jiangdong one jin is a large string, half a jin a
"For one sheng of boiling water, use one fangcun-spoon of tea powder. If you like it thin, reduce it; if you crave strength, increase it."
"On rainy days do not pick; on clear days with clouds do not pick; only on perfectly clear days pick."
"The pestle and mortar, also called dui, are best when they have long been in constant use."
"Ladle it with a gourd into the bowls, so that the foam is evenly divided. The foam — the froth — is the flower of the soup."
"From picking to sealing there are seven processes; from barbarian boots to frosted lotus there are eight grades."