In the fifthchapter Luwuh describes the method of making tea. He eliminates all ingredientsexcept salt. He dwells also on the much-discussed question of the choice ofwater and the degree of boiling it. According to him, the mountain spring isthe best, the river water and the spring water come next in the order ofexcellence. There are three stages of boiling: the first boil is when thelittle bubbles like the eye of fishes swim on the surface; the second boil iswhen the bubbles are like crystal beads rolling in a fountain; the third boilis when the billows surge wildly in the kettle. The Cake-tea is roasted beforethe fire until it becomes soft like a baby’s arm and is shredded into powderbetween pieces of fine paper. Salt is put in the first boil, the tea in thesecond. At the third boil, a dipperful of cold water is poured into the kettleto settle the tea and revive the “youth of the water.” Then the beverage waspoured into cups and drunk. O nectar! The filmy leaflet hung like scaly cloudsin a serene sky or floated like water- lilies on emerald streams. It was ofsuch a beverage that Lo- tung, a Tang poet, wrote: “The first cup moistens mylips and throat, the second cup breaks my loneliness, the third cup searches mybarren entrail but to find therein some five thousand volumes of oddideographs. The fourth cup raises a slight perspiration,—all the wrong of lifepasses away through my pores. At the fifth cup I am purified; the sixth cupcalls me to the realms of the immortals. The seventh cup—ah, but I could takeno more! I only feel the breath of cool wind that rises in my sleeves. Where isHoraisan? Let me ride on this sweet breeze and waft away thither.”
在第五章里陆羽详细描述了茶的烹煮方式。那些之前我所提到的古人加入茶中的荒唐原料几乎都被陆羽否决，只留下了盐这一味。除此之外，还不厌其烦地讨论水源和温度的挑选条件。在他看来，山泉水是最好的，而江水、井水则等而下之。（在烹煮时）水的沸腾有三个阶段，“其沸如鱼目，微有声为一沸，缘边如涌泉连珠为二沸，腾波鼓浪为三沸”。茶团在炭火边炙烤到“倪如婴儿之臂”的地步，然后被碾成粉末，装入上好的纸袋中。在一沸时放入盐，二沸时放入茶粉，而三沸时在锅中加入一瓢冷水（二沸时取于一旁），从而培育出“水之华”。然后茶汤就可以被倒出而饮用了。噢！这甘美的饮料！那轻薄的小叶仿若云之鳞羽飘浮在宁静的天际，又如浮于水面的睡莲，静静沉睡在绿宝石般的溪流中。这是如此绝妙的饮品，以至于卢仝，一位唐朝的诗人，他这样写道：
“一碗喉吻润， 二碗破孤闷。
三碗搜枯肠， 惟有文字五千卷。
四碗发轻汗， 平生不平事，尽向毛孔散。
五碗肌骨清， 六碗通仙灵。
七碗吃不得也， 唯觉两腋习习清风生。
蓬莱山， 在何处？ 玉川子乘此清风欲归去。”
徐艺珈
