A Contract with A Servant, by rhapsodic poet Wang Bao in the Western Han dynasty (206 B.C. - 9 A.D.) is popularly regarded as the earliest written account of tea. In this documentary of current events, Wang Bao described how his servant prepared tu leaves and utensils for him and went to Wuyang to purchase tu leaves. It is obvious that tea was loved by the literati and it was commercially marketed.
The earliest book on tea - and the one best known by far - is Classic of Tea written by Lu Yu in the Tang dynasty (618 - 907 A.D.).
Lu Yu recorded everything from how teas were grown, how teas were classified, to how tea should be chosen and cooked in the Classic of Tea, which became the first definitive guide to all things tea-related. The book elevated tea to a new level - an art - and made a monumental impact to how tea was perceived and drunk - an impact that lasted for centuries to come.
With his exceptional contribution in the development of Chinese tea, Lu Yu has been honoured as the "Saint of Tea" and "God of Tea" by later generation.