During the Song Dynasty, drinking three cups of tea after each meal became the tradition among monks. And during the Ming Dynasty, making tea was the second most important activity in the life of lay Buddhists, just after incense meditation (焚香). In short, tea first became popular in temples. Then it became part of the daily routine among monks and lay Buddhists. Finally, tea became an indispensable part of Chinese life, becoming one of the seven essential elements needed in daily life according to a Chinese proverb (开门七件事，柴米油盐酱醋茶). Buddhism was also responsible for the development of the first tea-production techniques. Many famous varieties of tea were first invented by monks and temples could be relied on for producing good tea. The well-known Mending Gan Lu tea is said to have been planted by hand during the Han Dynasty by Zen Master Puhui of the Sweet Dew Temple (甘露寺) on Mount Mengshan. It has been a tribute tea since the Jin Dynasty. Wuyi Rock tea, which was first invented by monks in Wuyi Temple in Fujian, became a tribute tea during the Song Dynasty.

Perhaps the most significant contribution of Buddhism to tea culture has been the infusion of Buddhist philosophy into tea drinking, making the history of tea totally different from that of other beverages. Chinese Buddhism absorbed tea’s characteristics of bitter (苦), serene (静), and common (通), connecting them with the Buddhist ideals of suffering (苦), equipoise (定), and wisdom (智) to develop spiritual tea culture, namely “to see tea and Buddhism as being of one taste (茶佛一味)”.