Glory

Modern Chinese tea art in the early 21st century placed great emphasis on performance aspects, requiring tea masters to maintain dignified elegance, graceful postures, and stage-worthy movements. Later, tea masters realized 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 Japanese tea ceremony, preferring instead the free-spirited nature of Chinese tea ceremony.

After all, tea is fundamentally a beverage - whether it tastes good and brings comfort while drinking is what truly matters. How to drink it and in what manner should be left to the tea preparer's preference. Following nature's way, embracing natural principles - this is the true essence of tea ceremony.

However, to promote tea art and tea ceremony and attract more enthusiasts, it still requires some demonstrative qualities. The tea arrangement should be beautiful, and shouldn't the tea master and their techniques also possess beauty?

Therefore, what she demonstrated today was tea art with some performance elements. The tea masters at Gathered Fragrance House also prepared tea in this manner.

The main hall in the front courtyard was designed for showcasing tea art and tea ceremony. If the space was too large, it would diminish the effect, so Ye Yaming had designed it to accommodate just over thirty people. Today's invitations were limited to this number. Some invitees hadn't come, leaving only twenty-two people in the hall. After preparing tea three times, Ye Yaming had served tea to everyone.

During the first two sessions, everyone was immersed in the beauty of the tea art. However, since Tieguanyin tea wasn't widely known yet, and the aroma appreciation cups and tea ceremony sets Ye Yaming brought out were appearing for the first time, genuine tea lovers like Princess Yu Ning and Fan Yu had numerous questions about why she used these tools.

By the third session, they could no longer contain their curiosity - why certain actions were taken, what certain tea utensils were called, and their purposes.

Lu Guanyi, being newly married to Ye Yaming and having spent these days together, had tasted much tea prepared by her.

When the first person raised a question, he spoke up: "Please understand, Ming'er doesn't speak while preparing tea. She considers it impure. Please hold your questions until after she finishes preparing the tea."

Upon hearing the first part, people felt slightly displeased, wondering if Ye Yaming was putting on airs. But when they heard "impure," they suddenly understood and nodded repeatedly.

Indeed, speaking while preparing tea would spread saliva - who would dare drink such tea besides the speaker themselves?

Fan Yu and Tan Xuan exchanged glances before quickly looking away, both silently resolving not to drink tea together anytime soon.

After completing the final round of tea preparation and having the maid serve the remaining guests, Ye Yaming finally invited questions and began explaining the raised inquiries.

She concluded: "All tea masters at our teahouse have been personally trained by me. They all prepare excellent tea, and I've explained both the tea utensils and their underlying principles to them. If you have further questions later, you may consult them gradually."

"Now, I will demonstrate the Dark Tea preparation method."

As she spoke, Bai Rui and Lve E replaced the tea set with one centered around a purple clay teapot. The floral arrangement on the table was also changed. The music behind the screen shifted from guzheng to guqin.

As Ye Yaming began the tea ceremony rituals, the audience once again immersed themselves in the beauty of tea art.Dark Tea is different from Tieguanyin. Ever since Ye Yaming returned from Minzhou to Lin'an and introduced Tieguanyin, everyone had become quite familiar with this new tea over time. Although their brewing techniques were still unrefined and they lacked specialized tea utensils like aroma cups and tea ceremony sets, the tea itself was no longer unfamiliar to them.

Dark Tea, however, was something they had never encountered before—existing only in legends. The court's emphasis on it and the praise from Chen Zhen and others had sparked intense curiosity.

Thus, after three rounds of tea tasting, once everyone had sampled this tea with its distinctly sweet, mellow character—so different from green tea and Tieguanyin—someone couldn't resist asking: "Madam Lu, this tea tastes so richly sweet and smooth. How could anyone claim it's made from lower-grade leaves than coarse tea? That can't be true, can it?"

"Impossible," Tan Xuan, who had nearly become Ye Yaming's staunch admirer, retorted immediately. "Hearing such rumors, I deliberately bought coarse tea to compare. That tea is entirely different from this Dark Tea. Coarse tea is undrinkable, while Dark Tea has become my favorite."

His good friend Fan Yu promptly mocked him: "Just yesterday you declared Tieguanyin was your favorite."

"Tieguanyin was yesterday's favorite; Dark Tea is today's. No contradiction there," Tan Xuan retorted instinctively.

"Both of you, be quiet," Princess Yu Ning scolded sharply. "Let Yaming speak."

The two friends immediately fell silent.

Ye Yaming smiled and explained, "The rumor is actually correct. Dark Tea is indeed made from mature leaves and stems. When I first developed this tea, I was thinking about how coarse tea tasted unpleasant and wondering if there was a better way to process tea for improved flavor. It took considerable effort to finally achieve this result. Therefore, this tea isn't expensive—only slightly pricier than coarse tea, with the difference covering the complex, time-consuming processing."

Hearing this, the guests felt conflicted.

Everyone present was of noble status, accustomed to exquisite cuisine where even a simple eggplant dish required multiple chickens and dozens of preparation steps before serving. The idea of drinking tea made from old leaves and stems—affordable even to commoners—felt beneath their dignity.

Yet giving it up wouldn't be easy. Many had instantly fallen for its sweet, mellow smoothness.

Ye Yaming continued warmly, "I created this tea three years ago without expecting so many would enjoy it. Now that everyone likes it, I'll produce some Dark Tea using finer raw materials for you to sample."

The crowd rejoiced: "That would be wonderful!"

But Tan Xuan grew impatient: "Madam Lu, do you have any of this current batch on hand? Could you sell me some?"

Ye Yaming shook her head. "I only made one batch on a whim back then. This tea is unique—unlike green tea or Tieguanyin, it stores exceptionally well. Properly kept, it won't spoil for ten or even twenty years, improving with age."

"After making that batch, I stopped since it seemed enough for many years of drinking. The existing quantity is limited and insufficient for sale. To let everyone taste it, I plan to serve it exclusively in this teahouse. The same applies to Tieguanyin. When next year's Spring Tea arrives, both Tieguanyin and Dark Tea will be released in small quantities, and I'll be sure to notify you all."

Hearing they could enjoy it again—and that Tieguanyin would also be available here—everyone felt quite pleased.The quantity is limited. If Ye Yaming were to sell it directly, few of those present would be able to buy it. Those who couldn't obtain it would have to beg others for a taste, while those who managed to buy it would be reluctant to share. This would inevitably lead to conflicts.

It would be far better to keep it in the teahouse and sell it cup by cup, like a steady stream flowing gently. This way, everyone can have a chance to savor it—truly an excellent arrangement.

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