Tea has been a symbol of a refined lifestyle since ancient times. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"Poet Geng Wei once visited Lu Yu, and the pair enjoyed a lyrical discourse. When Geng expressed his awe at Guzhu Hill's misty beauty and longing for Lu's life, Lu replied that he has to climb up the hill every day before dawn and study the tea leaves, which confirms that Lu worked at the tea factory," says Lin Ruiyang, director of the organization.

While contemporary people typically brew processed tea leaves, as recorded in The Classic of Tea, the manufacture of Zisun Tea involved seven procedures, before the tea leaves were compressed into its distinctive flat and round shape with a hole in the middle.

Since the 1970s, the Changxing government has been engaging tea experts in the restoration of the traditional tea-making technique. As a provincial-level inheritor of the Zisun tea-making craft himself, Lin embarked on a journey to make improvements and innovations.