"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
"When Emperor Hui of Jin, fleeing in the dust, returned to Luoyang, the eunuch presented tea in an earthen bowl to the Son of Heaven."
"Picked out of season, made carelessly, adulterated with wild weeds, drinking it brings illness. The harm of tea, too, is like that of ginseng."
"For tea bowls, those of Yuezhou are best, Dingzhou and Wuzhou next; of the Yuezhou type, Yue is finest, then Shouzhou and Hongzhou."
"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."
"The use of tea: its nature is extremely cold, and as a beverage it is most suited to men of disciplined conduct and frugal virtue."
"The wind stove is cast of copper or iron, shaped like an ancient tripod."
"Among the Three Sovereigns, Shennong the Fiery Emperor; of the Zhou, the Duke of Zhou Dan of Lu; Yan Ying, prime minister of Qi; and of the Han, the immortals Dan Qiu-zi and Huang
"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
"Gathering in shade and roasting by night is not true making; tasting and sniffing is not true judging; rank-smelling vessels are not true utensils; greasy fuel and kitchen charcoa