Early in 6th century in China, tea, which had been drunk for some 500 years as a medicinal drink, emerged as a pleasing beverage in itself. Methods of cultivation, manufacture and preparation had improved but remained relatively primative. By the start of the Sung Dynasty (960 - 1279) tea had become very important to Chinese society. Elaborate teahouses opened for the intelligentia in all cities of China and everyone drank tea. In many homes a room was set aside for the purpose of taking tea. The caliber of personal tea collections revealed the individual's social status. It was common for dried leaves to be ground into powder and whipped in hot water. The culture of tea was at its peak and remained so until Chinese society fell under the power of invaders. First, northern China was overtaken by Genghis Khan in 1215 and then Kublai Khan overturned the Sung Dynasty in the south in 1279. Chinese society went into decline and along with it, the prominence of taking tea.

Japan - the only other country that grows and drinks primarily green tea - had imported green tea since it was first introduced by Buddhist monks around 593. It wasn't until the 1100's that Abbot Eisai planted the tea gardens that became the source of most of the tea gardens in present day Japan. The Abbot also wrote the first book on green tea, The Book of Tea Sanitation, a health book of 1191. The tea ideal of the Sung Dynasty when imported to Japan was influenced by the Zen belief that "There is greatness in the smallest of incidents of life." As in China, vendors began selling tea outside the temple gates and not long after the first tearooms opened in Japan. Zen followers drank powered tea from a communal bowl before the image of Bodhidharma.

Eventually, this interest led to the development of the tea ceremony called "chanoyu" (literally "hot water for tea"), marked by the ritulistic preparation and drinking of green tea. The ceremony which influenced all of Japan's fine arts, typically took place in a tea room or small outbuilding 9 feet square with a small entrance. Inside the guest observes an alcove that holds a single piece of fine art, ceramic, or a handpainted screen. There is a brazier for warming the water, and a shelf holding several accessories: ladle, bowls, caddy, bamboo whisk, and the tea named Matcha. Matcha is ground Gyrokuro leaves of a very high quality.

Later, when the situation in China was improved and the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1643) established, the Chinese invented the process of manufacturing and the steeping method we use today. In the 1500's the Yixing teapot came into favor because the tiny pots made it easy to balance the ratio of water to tea. The process of preparing tea was somewhat simplified and, taking the cue from Japan, emphasized the purity, serenity, and the aesthetics of taking tea.

In 16th century Japan the standards for chanoyu were put into place that brought poetry and philosophy to the art of tea. Zen tea master Senno Rikyu formalized and ritualized chanoyu. In doing so, he established 3 schools to teach the way of the ceremony.