The Chinese Chagao Museum is going to exhibit some of its treasures at Longbaozhai, Guanqianjie Street, Suzhou, from September 28 to October 6.

Chagao is a type of solid instant tea that is specially produced by extracting and reprocessing tea juice from processed and fermented tea leaves. As one of the five forms of Pu-erh tea -- brick, cake, ball, waterway and paste -- chagao is also the first kind of instant tea in the world.

Chinese chagao first appeared in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). It developed in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), declined in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and flourished in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Since its slump after the Qing Dynasty, Pu-erh chagao began attracting public attention again in 2004 when Lu Hsun’s collection of three-gram Pu-erh chagao enjoyed by the royal family in the Qing Dynasty was auctioned for 12,000 yuan ($1,961).