Three realms of tea drinking, which realm are you in!

Drinking tea is far more than just quenching thirst.

It is a process from material to spiritual, from sensory pleasure to spiritual enjoyment.

Let's talk about the three different levels and realms of tea drinking experience, and see which level you have reached.

1. Taste (just getting started):

This is the most basic and direct experience level of tea drinking. When a novice starts to drink tea, the focus is mainly on the feeling of the tea soup at the moment of entering the mouth.

• Taste: bitter, astringent, sweet, sour, fresh (such as the freshness of green tea and the mellowness of black tea)
• Aroma: floral, fruity, honey, roasted, aged, etc.
• Touch: the smoothness, astringency, astringency (tight feeling) of the tea soup in the mouth, etc.

"Just getting started": This stage is mainly to understand tea and distinguish the most superficial characteristics of tea, which is the starting point of tea drinking.

2. Drinking water feeling (getting better):

When you no longer just focus on the taste and aroma, and begin to feel the appearance of the tea soup itself and the overall feeling in your mouth in a more detailed way, you have reached the realm of "drinking water feeling".

• Thickness/consistency: Is the tea soup as thin as clear water, or as thick and rich as rice soup?
• Smoothness/fineness: Is the tea soup as smooth as silk, and will it get stuck in your throat?
• Activity/agility: Is the tea soup lively, and does it feel lively and not dull in your mouth?
• Wrapping/fusion: Are the fragrance, taste, and soup feeling of the tea well matched, wrapping the tongue harmoniously?
• Waterway: From the entrance to the swallowing, is the whole process smooth and comfortable?

The meaning of "getting better": Being able to appreciate these inherent qualities and coordination of the "watery" tea soup means that you have begun to appreciate the beauty of tea, and the fun of drinking tea has also deepened.

3. Physical sensation of drinking (entering the palace is like entering the sea):

This is the most mysterious and personal realm in the tea drinking experience. It goes beyond the feeling of the mouth and is the body's reaction to tea and inner feelings.

• Warm sweating: After drinking, the body warms up and even sweats slightly (especially common when drinking old tea, rock tea, and ripe Pu'er)
• Transparent and comfortable: The breath is smooth, the body is relaxed, and the mind is peaceful. Sometimes you can even vaguely feel a "tea air" flowing in the body
• Mood changes: People become relaxed, happy, and calm
• Physiological reactions: Some teas will bring a sense of fullness or hunger. Physical reactions: Natural burping and exhaust.

Endless exploration: Once you experience this inner feeling of the body and begin to pursue it, it is like walking into a deep palace or a sea, where there are endless mysteries waiting for you to experience and understand. It is no longer a simple sensory enjoyment, but an in-depth dialogue between the body and mind and tea.

From then on, I gradually understood:

When you reach this state, it is often "only understandable, difficult to express in words". The wonders you experience are difficult to explain clearly to outsiders.