Lu Yu Tea Museum
In the Tang Dynasty the Emperor Tang Xuan Zong had a tea factory in the Gu Zhu Valley where the famous Gu Zhu Zi Sun tea was grown. This tea factory employed 10,000 workers and was supervised by the Chinese tea saint, Lu Yu, for twenty years before his death in nearby Huzhou. During that time Lu Yu wrote the Cha Jing, (The Classic of Tea).
In 2004, the local Changxing government began constuction of a full-sized replica of that factory on the original site. We watched the building from beginning to end. It was an amazing project done in the Tang Dynasty style of stone and wood construction on a massive scale. It was opened to the public in May 2008 and Seven Cups was given a five year contract to supply it with tribute level tea from all across China, and manage one of the teahouses in the museum. While it was a great honor for us, we are a small company and could not manage taking care of a teahouse there and our teahouse in Tucson, especially with kids in school. While the contract became honorary, it was one on of the proudest moments in our company’s history.
Seven Cups was the only company outside of the Gu Zhu Valley to be so honored. We are deeply humbled and grateful to the tea masters who supply us, because it is they whom we must thank for our reputation in China. Without them it would not have been possible for us to be chosen. We are also grateful to the Changxing and Huzhou governments that allowed us to participate in the project.
Covering an area larger than two football fields, the Museum is be a true monument to tea. It is always our first stop on our Spring Tea Tour, and Changxing is where we stay for the first part of the tour, since it was the center of Chinese tea culture during the Tang.
