White tea legend

Chapter 195 Sencha
The prosperous Chang'an, Zhuque Street.

A brand new teahouse opened on Zhuque Street. A red damask gold plaque hung high on the lintel, with the four gilded characters "Xiang Ming Ya Xu" written on it, shining brightly in the morning light.

Auspicious days and auspicious times.

There was a buzz of people in front of the teahouse. It was rumored that this teahouse was opened by Mr. Jing Zhaoyin's sister and brother-in-law, so it attracted countless curious eyes. As soon as the chen hour arrived, a luxuriously dressed couple, Jing Zhaoyin and his wife, came to the opening in person. Their arrival undoubtedly adds a lot of beauty to the tea house.

Jing Zhaoyin is wearing a purple round-neck robe with a white jade belt around his waist, looking majestic and majestic; his wife is wearing a green skirt, with her hair in a high bun and a gold hairpin, showing gentleness and virtuousness in her behavior. The two were warmly welcomed by the teahouse owner and walked in. Along with the loud music of gongs and drums, firecrackers went off and confetti flew, adding a bit of liveliness to the festive scene.

The interior of the teahouse is elegantly decorated, with famous calligraphy and paintings hanging on it, finely carved wooden chairs and tables, and a faint scent of sandalwood.

Jing Zhaoyin and his wife sat on the high platform, with exquisite purple sand tea sets placed in front of them. As the tea was poured in, the fragrance of tea overflowed, making it even more elegant.

As guests gathered, dignitaries from all over the world also came here. There are noble princes wearing brocade robes coming on horseback; there are literati holding folding fans, laughing and chatting. They may present gold and silver treasures, silk damasks, or display jades and antiques. All kinds of congratulatory gifts are piled up in piles, demonstrating the host's extensive connections and prominent status.

In fact, these connections all belong to Master Jing Zhaoyin.

As time passed, the atmosphere in the teahouse became more and more lively. Some musicians who came with the guests began to play the guqin and flute. The melodious music flowed in the air, intertwined with the laughter and laughter of the people, forming a joyful and harmonious celebration melody.

Over at Liquanfang, in the Lu Yu Thatched Cottage, Shijun stood at the counter and took medicine, looking like he was in a daze.

Bai Niangzi and Lu Yu got married, and they went to open a teahouse.

The White Snake has said that she wants him to learn medical skills from the big guys, so that he can become the foundation of his life, cure diseases and save others, and benefit others and himself. So he stayed at Lu Yu Thatched Cottage to study medicine with three masters.

But he also wanted to go to "Xiangming Yaxu" to see the excitement. Today is the day when the teahouse opens. "Xiangming Yaxu" must be very lively, right?
"Bai Yunfei, I'll take you there in a minute. Don't be listless." Guolou looked at Shijun and said with a smile.

Zi Yao and Huan Hu also looked at him and smiled.

Shijun scratched his scalp and felt a little embarrassed: "I, it's not, that..."

"Don't be embarrassed, we want to go too," Zi Yao said, "It's just that right now, when there are a lot of people over there, we'd better wait until later to go there, so we won't cause any trouble right now. They focus on entertaining other distinguished guests first.”

Shijun became happy after hearing Zi Yao's explanation.

"Bai Yunfei, don't just talk, hurry up and do the work at hand. The patients here are waiting for medication." Coral urged.

Shijun hurriedly picked up the medicine pestle and pounded the medicine.

Gualou came to take the medicine pestle and asked Shijun to go over and learn from Hualou.

The patient in Coral's hands is an old man.

One day while working hard in the forest, he accidentally ate a poisonous weed called "Snake Grass". This poisonous weed grows deep in the mountains and forests. It looks similar to ordinary herbs, but it is extremely poisonous.

Not long after the old man accidentally ate poisonous weeds, he felt unwell and began to experience nausea and vomiting. His face turned pale and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. His breathing was rapid, his heartbeat was racing, and his hands and feet began to feel weak.

He was discovered and taken to Lu Yu Thatched Cottage, already dying.

"The toxins of the snake plant mainly act on the brain, heart, and muscles, causing patients to experience severe pain, difficulty breathing, irregular heartbeat and other symptoms. It is necessary to prepare the 'Golden Snake Jiedu Pill' to detoxify..."

"Master, how should I prepare the Golden Snake Detoxification Pills?" Shijun asked, looking open-minded and eager to learn.

Gualou and Ziyao looked at each other and smiled, feeling a little dazed.

They were once a pair of enemies in heaven who were extremely jealous of each other. Unexpectedly, they now live together in the mortal world and become a mortal master together.

Fortune plays tricks on people.

……

Inside "Xiangming Yaxu", Baicha, Xuanfeng, Xiaoqing, and the hired shop assistants were busy entertaining the guests.

In the teahouse, the aroma is lingering, the music of the piano is gentle, and the sound of loud talks comes one after another.

In the largest elegant room, "Shuiyunjian", the atmosphere is more quiet and elegant. Lu Yu is demonstrating his exquisite sencha tea art to Jing Zhaoyin and his colleagues.

In the elegant room, the atmosphere of literature and ink is strong.

Famous calligraphy and paintings hang on the walls, and simple purple clay pots and exquisite tea sets are placed on the table. The leaves of the sycamore outside the window swayed in the wind, casting a half-shadow like an ink painting. Jing Zhaoyin was dressed in official robes and looked majestic. He was sitting on the main seat, his eyes showing his admiration and expectation for Lu Yu's tea art. His colleagues were either sitting upright or leaning sideways, all looking very interested.

Lu Yu was dressed in Tsing Yi and holding a copper tea clip in his hand. He first took out the best tea leaves, put them into a bronze tea pot, and stir-fried them gently to heat the tea leaves evenly and release a light aroma.

As the tea leaves gradually unfolded, a quiet tea fragrance suddenly filled the room, as if it carried the freshness of the mountains and forests and the sweetness of dew.

Then, Lu Yu took mountain spring water and poured it into the tea cup. The sound of water is as silky as silk, and lingers in your ears. He used a special bamboo fan to gently fan the tea to keep the fire power moderate so that the tea soup would not be overheated and lose its delicate taste. The heat is controlled just right.

When the color of the tea soup changed slightly and took on a golden sheen, Lu Yu calmly removed the tea from the fire and allowed the tea soup to slowly settle in the remaining heat, condensing the aroma of the tea.

Then, with a very ceremonial gesture, he poured out the first tea soup and discarded it to show that the dust in the tea leaves was washed away.

Then, he filled up the tea soup again. This time, he carefully poured the tea soup into each tea cup. Each cup was seventy full, leaving some room to show respect. The tea cup was turned slightly, and the tea soup swayed slightly and rippled.

Jing Zhaoyin and his colleagues took the tea cup and tasted it carefully. I saw them closing their eyes and smelling the aroma, sipping slowly and savoring the rich layers and flavors.

The fragrance of tea in the mouth is like a pine breeze carrying rain, and like a gurgling stream, making people feel refreshed and the hustle and bustle disappears.

All the nobles praised Jing Zhaoyin: "Master Pei, I have never seen your sister-in-law's tea making skills before. Although the process is complicated, it is full of ritual, and the taste of the tea soup is extremely unique."

Jing Zhaoyin felt that there was something special about his face and said to Lu Yu: "Sister-in-law, could you please introduce to all the adults what your tea-making techniques are?"

Lu Yu stood up, crossed his arms to Jing Zhaoyin, and then to everyone else, and said: "My lords, this technique is not called making tea. I have given it a name, called sencha."

"Sencha?" Everyone was interested because they had never heard of it before.

So, Lu Yu carefully introduced to the adults: "First of all, the utensils used for making tea are special tripods, bronze utensils and other bronze utensils, while tea making pots are mostly made of porcelain, purple sand and other materials.

Secondly, sencha pays attention to the heat and needs to be cooked slowly with firewood. The size of the heat needs to be flexibly controlled according to the type of tea, the amount of water and other factors.

When boiling water, it is usually best to wait until the water has 'fish eyes'..."

"Wait a minute, Mr. Lu, what are 'fish eyes'?" someone asked.

"It's just blisters."

Everyone said "Oh".

Lu Yu continued: "Furthermore, during the process of making tea, you need to observe the changes in the tea soup at all times, and increase or decrease the firepower at the right time according to the variety of tea and personal taste. Making tea is more about adding water and waiting for a certain period of time, which is relatively simple.

In addition, sencha still needs to be 'washed', that is, brewing it with hot water first, and then discarding the initial soup to remove the dust and bitterness on the surface of the tea leaves.

Finally, sencha focuses on the unity of color, aroma and taste of the tea soup, and pursues the sweetness and mellowness of the tea soup, so the tea soup produced every time is unique. Making tea is more convenient for daily drinking, fast and convenient, and the characteristics of each tea are relatively stable..."

After Lu Yu finished speaking, he bowed deeply to everyone with crossed arms again.

The nobles all said to Jing Zhaoyin: "Master Pei, the Holy One is also a lover of tea. My sister-in-law's tea-making skills should be known to the Holy One. The pearl must not be buried."

Pei Zhaoyin made up his mind that when the sage returned to Beijing from the summer vacation, he would go to the sage and introduce him to Lu Yu and the art of sencha tea.

"The sage likes Mengding Mountain tea. I wonder if Mr. Lu used Mengding Mountain tea for us to make tea today?" someone else asked.

Lu Yu patiently answered: "Due to different production techniques, Mengding Mountain tea is divided into yellow tea, black tea, green tea, etc. Today, the tea used for making tea for all of you is Mengding Stone Flower. Mengding Stone Flower is produced in Yazhou, Shu. The tea-making process of 'three-frying and three-drying' makes the tea leaves appear flat in shape, resembling flower petals. After simmering, the tea soup has a yellow-green color, a pure and fresh aroma, and a sweet and meaningful taste. "

The adults listened to Lu Yu's careful talk and nodded one after another, all of them looking polite and courteous.

"Then what kind of tea does this hooded stone flower belong to?"

"Green tea," Lu Yu said, "The Mengding nectar that the saint likes also belongs to the green tea category, and the Mengding Huangya belongs to the yellow tea category."

"Mr. Lu is so knowledgeable about tea, who would he study under?"

"I'm going to learn tea from Abbot Zhiji of Longgai Temple."

"Master Zhiji must also be a master and a wonderful person..."

In the Shuiyun Room, the men were talking loudly, while Bai Cha was drinking tea with Mrs. Pei and other ladies in another tea room, "Tingyuxuan".