"For the fire, charcoal is best, and sturdy firewood next. Charcoal that has been used for roasting, stained with fat and rankness, as well as resinous wood and rotten utensils, mu
"Steam it, pound it, press it, roast it, string it, seal it — and the tea is done."
"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."
"Some praise tea that is glossy, black, and even — that is the lowest judgment. Some praise what is wrinkled, yellow, and uneven — that is a middling judgment. But to call everythi
"The guan skewer is cut from bamboo, two and a half feet long, for stringing tea cakes to roast."
"For tea bowls, those of Yuezhou are best, Dingzhou and Wuzhou next; of the Yuezhou type, Yue is finest, then Shouzhou and Hongzhou."
"The bamboo-shoot-like buds, growing in rich rocky soil, reach four or five inches, like young ferns just unfolding; they are picked while the morning dew is still on them."
"The stove should have no chimney; the cauldron should have a lipped rim."
"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