陸羽以前飲茶方式十分多元，在《茶經》所引相關文獻與陸羽當時的觀察，可將茶文化分為茶品、製茶、烹煮茶方法、飲茶方式、使用茶器、飲茶目的等六項分析，其中茶器的部份不僅名稱不一，也有與飲食器雜用的狀況，沒有使用方法或造型的規範。陸羽所提倡的飲茶形式為日後文人所傳承，因此稱之「文人飲茶文化」，此一文化的重點在於強調精神內涵，以人格培養與美感體驗為核心，因此《茶經‧四之器》所設計的二十五件茶器明顯表現簡樸的特徵，如此不僅可藉使用簡樸的茶器培養「精行簡德」的個性，也可藉簡樸的越窯青釉茶碗，想像茶湯有如大自然湖水般的幻變，體驗飲茶的「至妙」美感體驗。

Before Lu Yu composed his classic work on tea culture, there were various ways of drinking tea. Judging from Lu Yu's personal observation and the relevant documents referred to in "The Classic of Tea", the tea-drinking culture can be analyzed in six aspects: tea products, tea-making, tea preparation, ways of drink tea, tea utensils, and reasons for drinking tea. Before Lu Yu, there were diverse forms of tea utensils with various names, sometimes used with food and drinking vessels. Methods of using and forms of utensils were yet defined nor put into order.The form of tea-drinking promoted by Lu Yu was inherited by later literati and transformed into literati tea-drinking culture. The characteristic of this tea-drinking culture was its emphasis on spiritual values and on the cultivation of personal character and aesthetic appreciation. The twenty-five pieces of tea utensil designed in the Forth Chapter of Utensils in Lu Yu's "The Classic of Tea" clearly shows a tendency toward simplicity. Simple utensils cultivate simple and spiritual characteristics. Celadon tea bowls of Yue kiln, with its simple glaze and design, allow people to appreciate the changing colors of tea and to enjoy the subtle beauty brought about by tea-drinking culture.