author
Yu Lu
733–804
Best known as the "Sage of Tea," this Tang dynasty writer turned a daily drink into a subject of art, study, and lasting cultural influence. His classic work on tea helped shape how generations understood growing, preparing, and appreciating it.
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About the author
Born in 733 in what is now Tianmen, Hubei, Lu Yu was a Chinese writer and tea master of the Tang dynasty. He is remembered above all for The Classic of Tea (Cha Jing), widely described as the first major work devoted to cultivating, making, and drinking tea.
Traditional accounts say he was raised in a Buddhist monastery, where he developed early knowledge of tea and herbs. Later he studied, traveled, and formed friendships with scholars and officials, building the deep practical and literary knowledge that would define his work.
What makes Lu Yu endure is the way he treated tea as more than a beverage. In his writing, tea became part craft, part observation, and part way of life, and that is why he came to be honored as the "Sage of Tea."