Fan Yu nodded: “Everyone knows that I recently visited Lin’an to deliver New Year gifts to Master Zhineng. During my visit to Chongshan Temple, I realized I was like a frog at the bottom of a well regarding tea, unaware of its true flavor.”

He raised his teacup: “When you all were drinking just now, didn’t you find the flavor of this loose tea better than compressed tea?”

Born into a noble family and endowed with extraordinary talent, he had married the Princess because of their childhood romance and deep affection. Being passionate about calligraphy and painting but uninterested in power, he had become a Prince Consort.

He excelled in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, and all manners of fine living, making him the most renowned refined scholar in the Capital. Anything he praised, even a handful of yellow soil, would be considered “elegant.”

Just now, everyone had been amazed by the composition of his tea brewing scene. They drank tea prepared by his own hands, with a red plum blossom adorning the elegant teacups. As they took a light sip, the taste of the tea, owing to their expectations and visual impact, was perceived as extraordinarily wonderful. When their mouths salivated and sweetness spread across their tongues, the fresh, vibrant flavor that stirred their souls was simply indescribable.

Having experienced the true flavor, and now with Fan Yu’s high praise for loose tea, they naturally believed him and began to extol the tea’s wonders.

As refined scholars, they viewed those who toiled daily for fame and profit as vulgar. They considered themselves more elegant than the worldly “nobles.”

Compressed tea was advocated by the wealthy and powerful, so by endorsing loose tea, they distinguished themselves from the common people.

Someone raised a doubt: “But isn’t loose tea what peddlers and porters drink with just one steeping to quench their thirst? Though its taste is indeed good, it seems too ordinary.”

“Not at all, not at all,” Fan Yu said. “What we’re drinking is the first tea bud that emerges in spring after maturing through autumn and winter, picked in the morning mist. It drinks dew on high mountains, absorbs the essence of heaven and earth, is carefully harvested, and undergoes countless processes before it can be steeped in our teapot, reborn like a phoenix, revealing its essence. How can you call such an elegant item ‘ordinary’?”

Those who flattered Fan Yu immediately agreed: “That’s right! People have nine ranks, and tea also has different grades. Peddlers and porters drink old branches and large leaves. Although what we drink is also loose tea, the grade is different. Compressed tea is pursued and advocated by the world, but there is no shortage of crudely made inferior compressed tea. So tea should not be classified by type, but by grade.”

Fan Yu nodded approvingly: “That’s exactly right. You should know that the osmanthus tea that recently amazed everyone was made from loose tea. This proves that Master Qin’s saying ‘tea cannot be classified by type, but by grade’ is truly insightful.”

“Reasonable, reasonable,” everyone agreed.

“Moreover,” Fan Yu continued, “when we say ‘drinking tea,’ we should be drinking tea, not spices. Compressed tea contains too many spices, putting the cart before the horse and losing the true flavor of tea. It’s like scholars who read the classics of sages to become more intelligent in word and deed, more virtuous in morality.”

“But look at some scholars who gradually become greedy bureaucrats, solely pursuing high positions and generous salaries, obsessed with power and authority, losing the original purpose of studying and the initial aspiration to share the emperor’s worries. How similar is this to compressed tea?”

“Brilliant! Brother Fan’s insight is profound.”

“Indeed, we scholars should drink more loose tea to remember our original intentions and not lose our true selves. Brother Fan’s words deeply resonate with me.”

“When Brother Fan’s remarks spread, they will surely serve as a wake-up call, awakening some scholars who have lost their way.”

Everyone agreed, sincerely praising Fan Yu’s words.

Fan Yu smiled, clasped his hands, and didn’t make any modest remarks.

His previous speech contained insights gained from his conversation with Master Zhineng at Chongshan Temple, as well as some realizations from his discussion with the Ye family’s Second Master, Ye Hongsheng, when buying tea sets at Jixiang Pavilion after returning to the Capital.

Although Ye Hongsheng was a merchant, setting aside other matters, he was exceptionally knowledgeable about tea. When speaking of tea, every word was like a pearl. The tea brewed by him was also exquisite, on par with the small novice monk by Master Zhineng’s side, which earned Fan Yu’s admiration.

As the praise gradually subsided, he continued: “Furthermore, who says brewing loose tea isn’t particular?”

“Oh? Is there actually something particular about it? Isn’t it just pouring boiling water and it’s done?” someone asked.

Fan Yu shook his head: “When I was brewing tea for everyone just now, looking from inside the window, wasn’t that composition beautiful?”

“It was stunning,” the first to speak was Tan Xuan, the most famous painter in the Great Jin Dynasty.

“Absolutely exquisite.”

Fan Yu said: “This wasn’t randomly arranged, but rather tea ceremony aesthetics.”

“Tea ceremony aesthetics?” Everyone was hearing this term for the first time.

Fan Yu didn’t explain but continued: “Additionally, how much tea to use, what water temperature is needed, the technique of brewing, how long to steep before pouring—all of these are matters of knowledge. Too much results in bitterness and astringency, too little leads to blandness. Making a good cup of tea is much more difficult than preparing compressed tea. The tea I just brewed is far inferior to that of Master Zhineng’s young disciple, Jin Chen, and there’s also a considerable gap compared to the Second Master of Jixiang Pavilion.”

Everyone’s interest was immediately piqued: “Did you learn all this from the young disciple at Chongshan Temple?”

Fan Yu nodded: “I learned even more from the Second Master of Jixiang Pavilion. The old master of Jixiang Pavilion is a close friend of Master Zhineng. Their second master is a marvelous person obsessed with tea making. I also coveted Master Zhineng’s tea set, heard it was from Jixiang Pavilion, and after returning to the Capital, I visited Jixiang Pavilion. Fortunately, the Second Master Ye was there. After discussing with him, I gained a lot.”

Upon hearing this, Tan Xuan raised his teacup with great interest and asked: “Were these tea sets purchased at Jixiang Pavilion?”

As a painter, he observed things more meticulously than others.

Tan Xuan had already noticed that his teacup was different from others. Each cup featured plum blossoms, but some were about to bloom, others were just buds, all in white porcelain with red flowers, complementing the earlier scene of white snow and red plums perfectly, which was truly wonderful.

Hearing this, Fan Yu immediately became animated and said to Tan Xuan: “Yes, these tea sets each come as a complete set with different themes. Even the kettles for boiling water are different, each with its charm. I bought ten sets at once.”

At this point, he became proud: “Some of these tea sets are specially made, with only one set per theme, unique and one-of-a-kind; but they also have mass-produced ones. They also do custom orders.”

He pointed to the teacup: “If the plum blossoms on this were painted by Brother Tan, this tea set, passed down to future generations, would absolutely be a priceless treasure…”

Tan Xuan immediately began scratching his head and ears in excitement, wishing he could go to Jixiang Pavilion right away to see the tea sets there, then paint on the ceramic blanks himself and have them fired.