Historically，where did the habit of tea drinking come from？

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It is commonly believed that the habit of tea drinking originated in Sichuan Province about 3，000 years ago.There is evidence that people there began to drink tea early in the Spring and Autumn Period.In the Qin Dynasty，tea drinking spread to other areas of China；and according to The History of Sichuan ，local people began to plant tea during the Western Han Dynasty.Zhang Jingyang othe Western Jin Dynasty spoke highly of tea produced on Mt.Qingcheng near Chengdu.In a poem entitled Climbing Chengdu’s Bai Tu Tower Zhang says，“Fragrant tea is superior to the sixth quiet story of Daoism；and its pleasant taste spreads to all the states .”The custom of tea drinking gradually spreaded out from Sichuan；and towards the end of the Western Han Dynasty，tea was regarded as the drink of imperial and noble families.Later，from the Jin to the Sui dynasties，tea drinking became popular among the common people.

What was the fashion of tea drinking in the Tang Dynasty？

Tea drinking prospered in the Tang Dynasty.As it became more and more popular，the way of the drinking varied.Before that time，people were not particular about their tea drinking.They drank tea to quench their thirsty or for medical purposes.

Beginning with the Tang Dynasty，however，people tended to have more delicate tea tastes and went through a rather complicated process in tea drinking.Usually one went through several stages before drinking.The first stage was to select tea；the second was to choose excellent tea cups and cooking utensils；the third was to prepare charcoal；the fourth was to get water；the fifth was to bake the chosen tea；the sixth was to grind it；the seventh was to boil the tea；and the final stage was to drink the tea.People thought that the taste would be better by going through the above procedures.They also took great care about water.The best water was from the mountain，the worst from the well.

At that time，Lu Yu published The Book of Tea ，the first book about tea in China.There also appeared anther book Supplement to the History of the Tang Dynasty ，which talked about tea from Mt.Mengding in Sichuan.This book says，”the local people have a custom of entertaining their guests with good tea.High quality tea falls into several different types，ranked first by taste and scent.”