This morning, my senior brother left. Over the past few days, I’ve learned a lot from him and will gradually write it down. This article will talk about tea brewing again.
Since learning tea brewing from my senior brother, I have felt it’s quite magical. Today at noon, my cousin and his girlfriend came for lunch. During the meal, we inevitably started talking about cultivation. I thought about teaching them some basic exercises and suddenly wondered if I could use tea as a path to the Dao?
At home, I pieced together some old cups and brewed the first infusion. They thought it tasted pretty good, sweet. For the second infusion, I told them about tea brewing — the core is that the mind’s intention influences the state of the tea, and the feedback is very immediate (see A010 Secrets of Tea Brewing). While talking, I got distracted — the second infusion tasted bad, and they could tell too. This was a real example, so I started explaining again. While chatting, I got distracted again, and the third infusion also tasted bad. 
But I finished all I wanted to say. I let my cousin try himself. His infusion was indeed bitter. Then I brewed again, focusing more, and it was sweet again. So, he turned into what I used to be — confused, trying to attribute it to brewing time or technique. I became the senior brother from that day, letting him experiment freely and even suggesting variables that I had found meaningful at that time.
Just like before, my cousin, his girlfriend, and I took turns brewing. After several rounds, the tea I brewed was basically the best tasting.
I found it very magical, so I tried to control variables: let my senior brother’s girlfriend brew, then me, then my senior brother. I also tried brewing for longer or shorter, brewing the first round or a middle round. After several rounds, it was still my senior brother’s tea that tasted best. This forced me to admit that what he said made sense.
Then we took turns trying. I tasted
- Fragrant, sweet, and mellow
- Very fragrant but bitter and harsh
- Slightly fragrant and slightly sweet and mellow
- Aftertaste a bit bitter
- Aftertaste faintly sweet
- And so on
- Even now, an hour later, there is still a little sweetness in my mouth
— From 《A010 Secrets of Tea Brewing》
I saw good progress and had already given him a doubt. I immediately gave him a result — the relaxation exercise of Qigong Association. Let me briefly introduce this relaxation exercise. It’s the first set of exercises I learned. It’s very simple: just relax from head to toe. At first, it was guided by the teacher’s words; later I silently recited in my mind; then with just a thought, I could relax. Personally, I think this is easier to start with than standing meditation or sitting meditation. It has almost no precautions or side effects. I have taught many people. It’s easy to learn but generally hard to persist. This time, I wanted to give my cousin a small shock of Qigong through tea brewing, encouraging him to practice more.
Before the last infusion, I guided them through the relaxation exercise again, then told him to maintain this relaxed state and focus on tea brewing.
Hmm~
After some effort, he reached my level! Sweet!
At first, his girlfriend drank and looked shocked. I smiled silently. Then he took a sip, looked at both of us, took another sip, and then drank it all.
I knew that today, using tea as a path to the Dao, it succeeded! I’m awesome 
