The Record of Tea (Cha Lu) was written by Cai Xiang as a response to Lu Yu's Classic of Tea, which had overloo…
The Record of Tea (Cha Lu) was written by Cai Xiang as a response to Lu Yu's Classic of Tea, which had overlooked the renowned teas of Jian'an. To remedy this, Cai presented Beiyuan tribute tea to the emperor as a worthy representative. The work is divided into two parts. The first discusses tea's appearance, fragrance, taste, storage, roasting, grinding, sifting, water preparation, bowl warming, and whisking, focusing on the quality of the brew and proper brewing techniques. The second part is devoted to a detailed account of the utensils used in tea preparation.