From drinking tea, to appreciating tea and further on to the tea ceremony, there is no other drink in the world that contributes so many layers of joy to us!
The Chinese Tea Ceremony is an experience. Excellent tea gives us what we wish for from Nature: beautiful form, color, aroma and taste for us to see, smell and feel. The sense of joy in tea lifts us up to a spiritual harmony essential to our well-being. Harmony, tranquility and beauty are the meaning of the tea ritual.
一碗喉吻润。二碗破孤闷。
三碗搜枯肠，唯有文字五千卷。
四碗发轻汗，平生不平事尽向毛孔散。
五碗肌骨清。六碗通仙灵。
七碗吃不得也，唯觉两腋习习清风生
(the original version of Lu Tong’s tea poem)
The first bowl sleekly moistened my throat and lips;
The second banished all my loneliness;
The third expelled the dullness from my mind,
Sharpening inspiration gained from all the books I’ve read.
The fourth brought forth light perspiration,
Dispersing a lifetime’s troubles through my pores.
The fifth bowl cleansed every atom of my being.
The sixth has made me kin to the Immortals.
This seventh is the utmost I can drink.