Chapter III · The Making: a close reading of the whole chapter
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Chapter III · The Making is a chapter about tea, tools, and judgment. Read it as a sequence of practical judgments.
Passage
“Tea is gathered in the second, third, and fourth months.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“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 passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“On rainy days do not pick; on clear days with clouds do not pick; only on perfectly clear days pick.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“Steam it, pound it, press it, roast it, string it, seal it — and the tea is done.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“The buds that sprout from dense thickets, with three, four, or five shoots, are picked by selecting those that rise most boldly.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“Tea takes a thousand forms. To speak roughly: some are like barbarian boots, puckered and shriveled; some like the chest of a wild ox, ribbed and draped; some like clouds rising from mountains, coiled and rolling; some like a light breeze over water, rippling and serene.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“From picking to sealing there are seven processes; from barbarian boots to frosted lotus there are eight grades.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“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 everything good or everything bad is the highest judgment.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.
Passage
“The good and ill of tea rest in the transmitted oral formula.”
The passage is short. The judgment behind it is not.