When Ye Shiheng heard the word "Silver Needle", his eyes lit up. He took the invitation and saw that it was indeed an invitation for him to taste tea.
This Lord Sheng Guangzhi worked in the Ministry of Rites. He loved drinking tea and was quite knowledgeable about the tea ceremony. Knowing him, we could be considered tea friends.
"General, are you going?" Wujing asked.
"Why not go? Silver Needle is a treasure among teas." Ye Shiheng said, with such good tea, why not go?
It just so happens that he is free tomorrow.
The tea tasting place is at Sheng Guangzhi's house.
Sheng Guangzhi's house was also in the south of the city, but it was a bit remote, so Ye Shiheng ordered someone to get a carriage early the next day.
After breakfast, Ye Shiheng went to Sheng Guangzhi's house with gifts. Since he was invited by someone else, he didn't need to bring anything with him. However, the tea he tasted was Silver Needle, which was priceless. He felt bad not bringing anything with him.
Arriving at Sheng's house, Ye Shiheng followed the Sheng family servant through the main hall to the back garden, and soon saw a pond with tall lotus leaves in the pond like a canopy. The lotus flowers were delicate but not coquettish, pure and elegant, and it was indeed a beautiful sight.
There was a house by the pond with curtains on all sides. When Ye Shiheng walked into the house, he saw two people kneeling on rush mats. They were both middle-aged. One was Sheng Guangzhi, wearing a long sandalwood silk gown, and the other was Du Chengmei, the Minister of Revenue, wearing a dark blue robe with wide sleeves, and they were drinking tea.
The two sat opposite each other, with a long table placed horizontally. Du Shangshu took a sip of tea and saw Ye Shiheng, "The general is here."
Sheng Guangzhi turned around and saw that it was indeed Ye Shiheng, so he stood up to greet the guest: "Brother Zhongping, I thought you were not coming. Come, sit down. Brother Chengmei has been here for a while."
Minister Du stood up, bowed, and said, "General."
Ye Shiheng returned the greeting: "Master Du."
After a few greetings, the three of them knelt down. Ye Shiheng looked at the items on the long table, which included a tea mortar, tea grinder, tea grinder, water ladle, tea sieve, tea cups, tea bowls, tea cups, soup pot, teapot, tea towel, tea whisk, a tea stove with warm water, two or three Jian tea cups, and a bamboo sieve with tea balls.
This is not just about tasting tea, but also about ordering tea.
Making tea by the tea maker is a method of brewing tea that has existed since the previous dynasty and is very popular nowadays. Literati, dignitaries and nobles all like to make tea by the tea maker. Even ordinary people will make tea by the tea maker in their spare time and invite friends and neighbors to enjoy it together.
Tea-making can be done by two or more people, or by one person. It can also be often seen when people are competing in tea-making competitions.
Making tea is a way to entertain guests and also a way to make friends. It always brings people physical and mental enjoyment and endless aftertaste.
It had been a while since Ye Shiheng had tasted and ordered tea with his friends. Right now, he was either overjoyed or showing joy on his face.
Sheng Guangzhi said with great joy, "Brother Zhongping, we haven't had tea together for several months. If you don't have enough tea, I won't let you go back home, otherwise my sister-in-law will be worried."
Ye Shiheng laughed and said, "Brother Guangzhi, you need to prepare more tea. I won't go back until I make you broke today."
"Don't worry, don't worry. I have more tea than you can possibly finish," Sheng Guangzhi smiled and listed them all. "We have West Lake Longjing, Junshan Yinzhen, Maojian, Biluochun, Tieguanyin, Dahongpao, Dongpian, and many other scented teas, so many that I can't remember them all. And of course, there's your favorite, Yinzhen, Brother Zhongping."
The most precious of the white teas is Baihao Yinzhen, also known as Yinzhen. The growing conditions of white tea trees are extremely harsh, so the yield is scarce, making it extremely valuable.
Ye Shiheng smiled and said, "When I invited you to drink tea, you couldn't refuse. Now I don't invite you anymore, but you invited me. Why don't you make me some silver needles to make amends?"
Lord Du also smiled and said, "General, you are right, Brother Sheng. If I hadn't come to you to ask for tea, I don't know when you would have thought of inviting me and the General to have tea."
He glanced at Sheng Guangzhi and said loudly, "When I return home with the general, Brother Sheng, you should give us some tea so we don't have to go out and buy it."
Ye Shiheng placed his hand on Sheng Guangzhi's shoulder and said, "Brother Sheng, I don't have much tea left at home. Give me some of the other teas, including some scented tea."
Sheng Guangzhi laughed and scolded, "I guess you two are here to have some free tea. How rude of you."
Ye Shiheng laughed: "Among all the officials in Tokyo, your family has the most varieties of tea. I'm not borrowing from you or anyone else, I'm just borrowing some. This time you invited me, next time I'll be the host and invite you to Lefeng Tower, and Lord Du will also come with us. How about we have tea and wine together?"
Du Shangshu said, "Brother Sheng, don't be stingy."
Sheng Guangzhi said, "I'll give you as much as you want, but I'm afraid you won't be able to finish it."
Ye Shiheng and Du Shangshu both laughed.
Sheng Guangzhi also smiled, as if he had a lot of tea at home and was not afraid that Ye Shiheng and Du Shangshu would finish it all.
The water in the teapot gradually boiled, and Sheng Guangzhi said, "Let's stop talking nonsense and focus on tasting the tea."
Ye Shiheng said: "Let's talk while we taste it."
Du Shangshu took out a long-handled bamboo ladle filled with water and handed it to Sheng Guangzhi. Sheng Guangzhi took the ladle, scooped hot water into three tea cups, and covered them with tea lids.
This is a warm cup.
Du Shangshu gently pushed the teapot closer to Sheng Guangzhi and took off the tea lid. Sheng Guangzhi poured hot water into the teapot, covered the lid, put down the bamboo ladle, and soon poured the water in the teapot into the wide-mouthed bottle. He was very focused and his movements were elegant.
This is for cleaning the tea set.
Sheng Guangzhi gently put down the teapot and removed the tea lid.
At this time, Ye Shiheng handed over a porcelain cup, which contained Baihao Silver Needle. The tea was shaped like a needle, with a lot of white hairs, like frost and snow, and shiny.
Du Shangshu handed over a pair of tweezers in tacit understanding.
Sheng Guangzhi was at a loss for words. It was clearly he who invited everyone to taste tea, but why did it seem as if everyone had gathered together to taste tea without any prior arrangement? He took the porcelain cup in his left hand, took the tweezers in his right hand, and took an appropriate amount of Baihao Yinzhen and put it into the teapot.
After enough tea leaves were put in, Ye Shiheng and Du Shangshu consciously took away the porcelain cup and tweezers and put them aside.
Sheng Guangzhi picked up a bamboo water scoop and slowly poured hot water into the pot, covered the teapot with a lid, and immediately poured out the boiling water in the pot.
This is the tea washing.
Sheng Guangzhi added water again until the teapot was about 70% full and covered it with a lid.
The cups were almost warm, so Ye Shiheng, Du Shangshu, and Sheng Guangzhi each took a teacup, poured water in it, and placed it in front of themselves.
After a moment, Sheng Guangzhi added tea to the three teacups. The tea soup was light apricot yellow, clear and bright, with a pure aroma and a distinct tea aroma.
Ye Shiheng picked up the teacup, took a sip, and praised it highly: "Silver Needle is indeed the king of teas. It has a mellow taste, is fresh and refreshing, and leaves a pleasant fragrance on the lips and teeth."
He put down the teacup and said, "Brother Sheng, where did you get the silver needles? Give me some too. The price doesn't matter."
Sheng Guangzhi said, "Silver needles are a rare commodity. The ones produced in Baicha Mountain are the best, and most of them are tribute. I have no way to get them. These silver needles were given to me by someone else."
Ye Shiheng asked, "Who gave it to you?"
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