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Later, in the Sung dynasty
(960-1280 AD.), known as the
romantic age of tea, poetry
and artistic references to
tea abounded. A precursor to
the Japanese tea ceremony or
Cha No Yu to come, the most
popular method of
preparation involved
grinding delicate tea leaves
into a green powder in a
stone mill and whipping it
into hot water with bamboo
whisks.
During this period, Chinese
culture significantly
influenced and impacted art,
politics and religion in the
Far East. Consequently,
around the early 9th
century, a Japanese Buddhist
monk, Saicho, is credited
with introducing tea to
Japan. While studying in
China, Saicho became exposed
to tea and brought back
seeds to start growing at
his monastery. Other monks
over time followed suit, and
soon small tea plantations
sprouted up at secluded
monasteries. However, due to
the isolation, tea's
popularity did not blossom
until the thirteenth
century.
At this time, like in China
people only drank tea in
powdered form. Inspired by
Buddhist spiritual
philosophy, this marks the
origin of the Japanese Tea
Ceremony or "Chanoyu".
The Modern Tea Steeping
Custom Emerges
Not until the Ming Dynasty
(1368-1644) was tea prepared
by steeping leaves in water,
like it is today. Instead of
compressing tea leaves into
bricks, the leaves were
dried, rolled and then
heated in iron woks. Brewing
simply involved steeping
leaves in hot water. The
Chinese government further
established a hold on tea
trade by opening a Bureau of
Tea and Horses. They
introduced laws regulating
interactions on the
frontier, where people
traded tea for horses. From
1644 to 1911, the Qing
dynasty ruled China and
eventually abolished duties
on tea, a testament to how
essential tea had become to
everyday life and the
economy.
In the 17th century, a
Chinese monk traveling in
Japan brought the new rolled
form of tea that had
replaced powdered tea in
China. A tea merchant in
Uji, Kyoto, Nagatani Soen
invented a new Japanese
method of steaming, drying
and rolling green tea during
the 18th century. This tea
and style of processing
became known as Sencha. The
custom of drinking Sencha
tea daily lives on today.
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