I have been looking for this for literally two decades. 茶经 (Chájīng or "The Classic of Tea", or as this translation has it, "on Tea") is something every tea aficionado who is aware of it wants a copy of. It is the oldest extant treatise on tea covering, in an amazingly small 7000 words, the history, cultivation, production, quality control, and cultural importance of the world's most popular beverage. Indeed I have two copies: a cheap paperback and a really nice bamboo scroll (which features prominently in my tea reviews). But what was always elusive was a good bilingual edition: one where I can read the English and struggle with the paired Chinese. I just never could find a "汉英" (Chinese/English) edition . Until ... well, OK, until mid-December. I found not one, but *two*. I flipped a coin and picked one and a few days later my copy of 中国茶经 arrived. The observant among you will note that this is a different name. Indeed in translation it would be "The Classic of Chinese Tea" or some such. Not "The Classic of Tea". And alarm bells failed to ring. Because it turns out that book is a very modern book (published 2024!) that acts as a sort of update and modernization of the classic work. And after the initial shock and disappointment wore off, I really do like it. I've learned about more teas from that book than I have from 20 years of living in China and sniffing things out manually. But I still wanted the classic work. So I ordered the other one. The one actually titled 茶经. And that's the subject of this photo-essay. As usual, more information in the alt text and Mastodon users will have to click through to see all five pictures. --- @tea@a.gup.pe @zdl@mastodon.online #茶 #茶经 #tea #TheClassicOfTea #book