The Cha Pu (Chinese: 茶谱; pinyin: Chápǔ; lit.
'Tea Manual') is a short work written in 1440 by Zhu Quan, the Prince of Ning,[1] the 17th son of the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming dynasty, and relates the methods of tea preparation and degustation.
It is considered by some to be a milestone in Chinese tea culture.
Following the Hongwu Emperor's ban[citation needed] on manufacturing of tea cake, Zhu Quan advocated a simpler way of steeping loose tea, a radical departure from the involved tea cake preparation methods of the Tang and Song dynasties, thus pioneered a new era in Chinese tea culture.
Ming Dynasty Tea Arts and Culture (Chinese)