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Chalu 茶錄 is a book on tea written by the Song period 宋 (960-1279) scholar Cai Xiang 蔡襄 (1012－1067). Cai Xiang occupied several posts as a prefect in southeast China, one of the main regions of tea productions in China. He finally became academician of the Duanming Hall 端明殿. Cai Xiang was famous for his calligraphy. Besides the Chalu, he has also authored the Lizhipu 荔枝譜, a book on lychees. His collected works are called Cai Zhonghui ji 蔡忠惠集.
The 2 juan "scrolls" long book Chalu begins with a preface in which the author gives the reasons for the compilation of the book. A postface was added when the book was printed in 1604. In the first part, the book describes colours, smells and tastes of tea, how it is stored, fermented, powdered, sieved, how infusions are made and how tea is served. In the second part, he describes the tools used for all these different processes of preparing the leaves and the beverage.
The Chalu is included in the reprint series Baichuan xuehai 百川學海, Shuofu 說郛, Gezhi congshu 格致叢書, Bai mingjia shu 百名家書, Hou sihi jia xiaoshuo 後四十家小說 and Siku quanshu 四庫全書.
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色 Se Colour 香 Xiang Odour 味 Wei Taste 藏茶 Cangcha Storing tea 炙茶 Zhicha Fermenting tea 碾茶 Niancha Grinding tea 羅茶 Luocha Sieving tea 候湯 Houtang Making a broth 熁盞 Xiezhan Brewing cups 點茶 Diancha Selecting tea 茶焙 Chabei Drying tea 茶籠 Chalong Tea baskets 砧椎 Zhanzhui Pounding tools 茶鈐 Chaqin Tea chops 茶碾 Chanian Tea grindstones 茶羅 Chaluo Tea sieves 茶盞 Chazhan Tea cups 茶匙 Chashi Tea spoons 湯瓶 Tangping Brewing vases |