Chapter I · The Origin: Practice today — Wild tea is best; that of the garden is inferior…
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
The passage
“Wild tea is best; that of the garden is inferior. On sunny cliffs beneath shady woods, the purple buds are best and the green ones inferior; buds like bamboo shoots are best, slender sprouts inferior; leaves that curl are best, leaves that spread open inferior.”
Practice today
Bring “Wild tea is best; that of the garden is inferior…” to a modern table through one concrete session: choose water, heat it, warm the vessel, measure leaf, pour, and notice.
You do not need Tang-style pressed tea or expensive utensils. Start with clean water, a sensible temperature, and a clean finish.
The point of reading is not nostalgia. It is a better question at the tea table.
Reading note
Read the passage once for the image, once for the judgment, and once for the practice it implies.
Practice
- Name one thing the passage asks you to notice.
- Compare it with a tea you know.
- Keep the question open.