Today, April 19, 2020, is Grain Rain day in Chinese traditional lunar calendar, the last solar term in Spring, the arrival of Grain Rain means that the temperature is getting warmer, and summer is closer.
Legend has it that drinking tea on GrainRain day can ward off evil spirits, clear the liver and improve the eyesight. Therefore, in ancient times on Grain Rain Day, regardless of the weather, people would go to the mountain where tea is grown to pick some new fresh tea leaves for drinking. The fragrance of plants and spring water enriched our mouth and spirit.
Tea is the treasure of the earth. When we sip tea, the sense of taste delights the body and mind and evokes our endless imagination of nature.
On Grain Rain day, choose an elegant tea set, brew a pot of refreshing Grain Rain tea, put on some light music, and enjoy the colorful world is indeed a very pleasant experience.
Drinking tea such as Longjing, Biluochun, or White Tip Needle in spring, is an appreciation of the beginning of the year. Pick a suitable cup, admire its appearance, hold it in your hand, drink tea from it. The beautiful teacup and the sip of fragrant tea will combine your body and mind, and inspire you to feel the tranquility of the world.
With a tea cup in hand, please appreciate the following Chinese poem, whose English translation, together with more poems on tea, is available in our book Tea: Chinese Poetic Gift to the World, 2014.
饮茶歌诮崔石使君
唐代：皎然
素瓷雪色缥沫香，何似诸仙琼蕊浆。
一饮涤昏寐，情来朗爽满天地。
再饮清我神，忽如飞雨洒轻尘。
三饮便得道，何须苦心破烦恼。
此物清高世莫知，世人饮酒多自欺。
愁看毕卓瓮间夜，笑向陶潜篱下时。
崔侯啜之意不已，狂歌一曲惊人耳。
孰知茶道全尔真，唯有丹丘得如此。
A World without Gaps 