In modern Chinese tea art of the early twenty-first century, there was great emphasis on performance aspects, requiring the tea server to be dignified and graceful, with movements that created a theatrical effect. Later, tea masters felt that the focus of “tea art” should not be on the “art” but rather on the “tea” itself. Only then did tea art abandon external performance elements and return to the essence of tea and its flavor.

Ye Yaming was an advocate of the latter theory. She disliked the rigid formality of the Japanese tea ceremony, preferring the free-spirited nature of Chinese tea culture.

After all, tea was originally just a beverage—how good it tasted and how comfortable it was to drink was what truly mattered. How to drink it and how one wished to drink it should be determined by the preference of the person brewing it. Following nature’s way was the true essence of the tea ceremony.

But to promote tea art and tea culture, to make more people fall in love with it, there still needed to be an element of presentation. The tea table arrangement should be beautiful, so how could the tea brewer and brewing technique not require beauty as well?

Therefore, what she demonstrated today was tea art with some performance qualities. The tea masters at Jixiang Hall brewed tea in the same manner.

The main hall of the front courtyard was a place for demonstrating tea art and the tea ceremony. If the area was too large, the desired effect could not be achieved, so Ye Yaming had designed it to accommodate only thirty-some people. For today’s invitations, the number was also controlled within this range. Some who received invitations didn’t come, and now there were only twenty-two people in the hall. Ye Yaming brewed tea three times and served everyone.

During the first two rounds, everyone was immersed in the beauty of the tea art. Since Tieguanyin was not widely available, the aroma cups and tea set that Ye Yaming brought out appeared in public for the first time. True tea lovers like Princess Imperial Yuning and Fan Yu had countless questions when they saw her using these items.

By the third round, they finally couldn’t resist asking what the purpose was behind her methods, what these tea utensils were called, and what they were used for.

Lu Guanyi and Ye Yaming were newly married and had been together these days. He had drunk plenty of tea brewed by Ye Yaming.

When the first person raised a question, he spoke up: “Please forgive us, but Ming’er doesn’t speak while brewing tea. She says it’s not hygienic. If you have questions, please wait until she finishes brewing the tea.”

When they heard the first part, some were slightly displeased, thinking Ye Yaming might be putting on airs, but upon hearing “not hygienic,” they suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly.

Indeed, talking while brewing tea would spray saliva—who would dare drink such tea except the brewer?

Fan Yu and Tan Xuan exchanged glances before quickly turning away, secretly deciding not to drink tea together for some time.

After Ye Yaming finished brewing the last round and had servants serve the remaining people, she finally allowed everyone to ask questions and began explaining the answers to their inquiries.

Finally, she said, “The tea masters in our teahouse were all personally trained by me. They brew excellent tea, and I’ve taught them about the utensils used for brewing and the principles behind it. If you have any more questions later, you can ask them for detailed answers.”

“Now, I will demonstrate the black tea brewing method for everyone.”

As she spoke, Bai Rui and Lu’E replaced the tea set with one featuring a purple clay teapot as the main brewing vessel. The flower arrangement on the table was also changed. Behind the screen, the music changed from guzheng to guqin.

As Ye Yaming performed the tea ceremony bow, the audience below once again became immersed in the beauty of tea art.

Black tea was different from Tieguanyin. Since Ye Yaming’s return from Minzhou to Lin’an and her distribution of Tieguanyin, people had had this new tea for some time. Although their brewing techniques were not proper and they lacked new tea utensils like aroma cups and tea sets, this tea was no longer unfamiliar to them.

Black tea, however, was a tea they had never encountered before, existing only in legends. The imperial court’s emphasis on it and the high praise from people like Chen Zhen made everyone extremely curious about it.

Therefore, as soon as the three rounds of tea were finished and everyone had tasted this tea with a completely different style from green tea and Tieguanyin, someone couldn’t help but ask: “Madam Lu, the taste of this tea is so sweet and mellow, how could anyone say it’s made from tea materials even worse than coarse tea? That can’t be true, right?”

“Impossible,” Tan Xuan, who had nearly become Ye Yaming’s biggest fan, immediately refuted, “When I heard such talk, I specifically bought coarse tea to try. That tea is completely different from this black tea. Coarse tea is undrinkable, while black tea is my favorite.”

As his good friend, Fan Yu immediately ridiculed him: “Just yesterday you said Tieguanyin was your favorite.”

“Yesterday I loved Tieguanyin, today I love black tea—no problem with that,” Tan Xuan instinctively bantered back.

“Both of you shut up,” Princess Imperial Yuning scolded fiercely, “Listen to Yaming speak.”

The two good friends immediately fell silent.

Ye Yaming smiled and said, “That rumor is not wrong. Black tea is indeed made from old leaves and stems. When I made this tea, I was thinking that since coarse tea doesn’t taste good, perhaps there might be a better way to make it more palatable. It took quite a lot of effort to produce the tea this way. Therefore, this tea is not expensive, only slightly more expensive than coarse tea. That small premium is due to the complex manufacturing process, which is more time-consuming and labor-intensive.”

Upon hearing this, everyone became conflicted.

All present were of noble status, who preferred their food refined and their meat sliced thin. Even an ordinary eggplant dish would use several chickens and more than ten cooking processes before it could be served. Now they were being asked to drink tea made from old tea leaves and stems, something affordable even to commoners, which seemed beneath their dignity.

Yet it was not easy to give it up. Many present had fallen in love with the sweet, rich, and smooth flavor of this tea at the first sip.

Ye Yaming smiled and said, “I made this tea three years ago and didn’t expect so many people would like it. Now that everyone enjoys it, I will produce some black tea made from better raw materials for everyone to taste.”

Everyone was delighted: “That would be wonderful.”

Tan Xuan, however, couldn’t wait and asked, “Madam Lu, do you have any of this tea on hand now? Could you sell some to me?”

Ye Yaming shook her head: “I only made a batch on impulse at the time. Because this tea is very special, unlike green tea and Tieguanyin, it’s particularly suitable for long-term storage. If stored properly, it won’t spoil even after eight or ten years, and the flavor improves with age.”

“I made one batch then, thinking the quantity was enough for me to drink for many years, so I stopped. I haven’t made any more since. Therefore, the current quantity is limited and not enough to be sold. To allow everyone to taste it, I plan to use it here in the teahouse. The same goes for Tieguanyin. When next year’s spring tea comes out, there will be small quantities of both Tieguanyin and black tea available for sale. I’ll be sure to notify everyone then.”

Hearing they could drink it again, and that Tieguanyin was also available here, everyone felt quite satisfied.

The quantity was limited, and if Ye Yaming sold it directly, few of those present would be able to buy it. Those who couldn’t buy it would have to beg others if they wanted to drink it, while those who managed to buy it would be reluctant to share with others, inevitably creating conflict.

It was better to keep it in the teahouse and sell it by the pot, like a gentle stream flowing continuously, allowing everyone to taste it—that was truly excellent.