Original Purity and Simplicity Returning of the Ming Dynasty Tea

On the sixteenth day of ninth month in Ming's Hongwu twenty-fourth year ( A. D. 1391), Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial edict that loose leaf tribute tea should be paid instead of the conventional ball tea. It was highly praised by people of the later ages that the Imperial Court fully considered the laboring people and stopped ball tea production, only tender tea buds were picked for paying tribute because the real tea flavor was lost when tea was ground with spice and compressed into small cakes.
   

The people then picked the best leaves just the flushing buds, heated spring water in a tripod, then infused and tasted it. The tea tasting system of the ages was found.

 Tea competition of the South Song period and the North Song period was over and cake tea was replaced by loose tea. The tasting method of grinding and cooking tea was changed into the boiling water and infusing method. The epoch-making changes took place. Pure tea drinking lasting for the later ages started.

This drinking method was considered by the Ming people to be particularly simple, naturally interesting, and true flavor tasting. In fact, this infusion method was developed on the basis of loose tea drinking method in the folktales of the Tang Dynasty.