"Tea has nine difficulties: the making, the judging, the vessels, the fire, the water, the roasting, the grinding, the brewing, and the drinking."
"Ladle it with a gourd dipper into the bowls. The finest essence — from one sheng of boiling water, it is divided among five bowls."
"For tea bowls, those of Yuezhou are best, Dingzhou and Wuzhou next; of the Yuezhou type, Yue is finest, then Shouzhou and Hongzhou."
"Tea is gathered in the second, third, and fourth months."
"The stove should have no chimney; the cauldron should have a lipped rim."
"It has five names: cha, jia, she, ming, and chuan."
"In Zhedong Circuit, Yuezhou is best, Mingzhou and Wuzhou next, and Taizhou lower."
"Yan Ying, when minister to Duke Jing of Qi, ate only husked-rice meals, with three roast game birds, five eggs, and tea-leaf vegetable."
"Tea is frugal by nature; it should not be used too lavishly, for overuse dims its flavor."
"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