One cannot finish the seventh bowl, but feels only a light breeze spring up under the arms. -Lu Tong #QotD

"Song of Seven Cups" from
"Taking Up the Pen to Thank Mèng Jiànyì for Sending New Tea"

One bowl moistens the lips and throat;
Two bowls shatters loneliness and melancholy;
Three bowls, thinking hard, one produces five thousand volumes;
Four bowls, lightly sweating, the iniquities of a lifetime disperse towards the pores.
Five bowls cleanses muscles and tendons;
Six bowls accesses the realm of spirit;
One cannot finish the seventh bowl, but feels only a light breeze spring up under the arms.
- by Lú Tóng of the Táng Dynasty

Mr. Sun

The cup of tea above was just what I needed after a long ride from Shanghai to Zhujiajiao (and some hotel check in troubles that were later resolved), oh, and some bad directions on my map, and swarms of crowds at the entrance to the Old Town ... but then, I turned a small corner and saw a sign for "tea, coffee, beer". Who could resist. I went in and was greeted by Mr. Sun and asked what I wanted. Tea, green tea. Ah, please sit down here with the fan.

I sat in a cane chair with a tea table made from a printing block. Mr. Sun brought a fine green tea and tended to other customers. He is also an artist and all the paintings in "The Old House" (which dates from the 1820's) are by him. He also likes to take you picture and poses you with various books that are around the tea house. As I finished up my tea, he took me on a tour of the house; we took some more pictures and then I was back on my way ...

As posed and shot by Mr. Sun